Immortal Ops: New & Lengthened 2016 Anniversary Edition (15 page)

He felt her reaching out to him with her thoughts. She was concerned for him and wanted him to contact the other men in his unit. He grinned, proud of his mate. She’d picked up on the fact they were a tight military unit right off the bat. Most people thought they were old college buddies. She was a smart girl who followed her instincts.

He moved down the darkened hallway, then turned and motioned for Peren to halt. He didn’t want her following him into a trap. He couldn’t bear the thought of one hair on her head being harmed. He loved her too much to let anything happen to her.
 

I love her?

As he thought more on it, he knew it was true. She was his mate. Nature made sure he loved her and he was damn thankful for that. Now that he’d claimed her, she was his, in every sense of the word. If she rejected him when she learned the truth about what he was, he’d still walk by her side, still follow close—even if in the shadows. She was his now and forever. His to love and protect. And his to watch over.
 

He prayed she’d accept him
,
because if she didn’t, someone in his pack could issue a challenge to not only his rule but her as his mate. A challenge among most political decision makers meant elections or debates. A challenge among shifters meant someone died.
 

He would die before he allowed harm to befall her
,
and he’d gladly give up his throne if it meant keeping her.
 

“Stay put, my sweet,” he said.

She nodded as he went in search of the other shifter scent he’d picked up on.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Peren hated the idea of standing around and doing nothing while Lukian went ahead without her. He didn’t have to tell her that something was very wrong in the house, she felt it too. A sense of dread had fallen over the entire place shortly after they’d finished making love. The house often took on an ominous vibe, but this was more than that. It was scary now
,
and she’d never been scared in her childhood home before.
 

It’d been ten minutes since he’d vanished down the long corridor
,
and time felt like it was standing still. She had to take a moment to relax her breathing and focus on what was going on around her. The strongest urge to look out the window came over her
,
and she gave in to her gut. She moved over toward the window and stared out into the dark night. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust.

She made out two shapes near the edge of the property. They were moving with great speed along the inside of the wall. Darkness was their only cover
,
and Peren had no trouble seeing in the dark.
 

She glanced back down the hall in the direction Lukian had disappeared. If these men were trying to flank him, they would succeed if she didn’t step in. Warning him felt wrong—as if yelling out might get him hurt. No. She couldn’t do that. She knew she was disobeying Lukian’s orders, but she’d never been much for authority. She moved against the wall and walked quietly to the first room she came to.
 

She opened the handle and slid quietly into the room. She moved with a stillness that caught her by surprise. The window opened with a bit of effort on her part. She climbed out slowly, covering the distance to the fence in less than a minute. That sort of speed was unheard of for humans
,
and she knew it. The more she thought back about her life, the less human she began to feel.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Lukian tried to lift his head. It felt as if he was smuggling bricks in it. Someone had caught him off guard and managed to get the drop on him when he’d entered the lowest level of the large home. That had never happened before
,
and he was curious as to how it happened at all.
 

Opening his eyes, he found himself staring at a dirty, bloodstained concrete floor. His wrists were chained behind his back. He tried to move his legs up and discovered his ankles were shackled as well. The more he yanked on the chains in an attempt to free himself, the more he knew they were silver-plated. Any other material he could have ripped apart easily. Silver was his weakness—as was the case for most shifters. It was one of the few things that could kill him.

His mind raced and he tried to get a bearing on where he was. His surroundings still smelled of the Matthews’ estate, yet the dark cell he was in looked nothing like the rest of the house. He thought of Peren and sniffed the air, trying to catch her scent
,
but failing. He hoped it meant she had listened to him and stayed where he’d told her
.

The odds of whoever had done this to him going after her next were great. He tried again in vain to free himself from the chains. Each attempt only made them cut deeper into his skin. If he wasn’t careful, they would cut right through his body. If it meant he could save Peren, he was willing to risk life and limb.

Peren, get out of the house! Get to the safe house! Get to my men! Go. It’s not safe here!

He tried to reach Peren with his mind. He had told her that she could hear him in time. He prayed that she was ready for that.
 

*

Peren stifled a giggle as she stared down at Roi lying on the ground. She hadn’t meant to be as aggressive as she’d been, but then again, she hadn’t realized it was him when she’d leapt out of the tree to try to bravely protect Lukian. Jon, who was with Roi and who had been the second figure she’d seen from the house, hadn’t stopped laughing yet. He pointed at Roi and laughed more, no sound coming out.

Roi glared up at him and growled. Jon stopped laughing and put his hand out to Roi, helping him up in the process. Roi socked Jon in the gut and then gave Peren a hard look.

Peren offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“You got the better of me. Looks like the captain did right in picking you,” he said, smiling back at her. “You’re not bad on the eyes either.”
 

“Yeah…you’re not too bad, for a girl,” Jon said with a wink.

“Where is Lukian?” asked Roi. “And what the hell were you doing in a tree? Does he know you were up there? He did find you, right?”

“He did,” she confirmed. “He’s up at the house.”

Jon’s brows met. “Why are you out here in a tree then? He’s mighty overprotective of you, ma’am. I don’t see him letting you go off into the night to climb trees for fun.”

“Actually, I was supposed to stay in the house where he left me. He gave me strict instructions to remain there while he went to check out something that was bothering him.”

“You listen well,” added Roi with a snort.

“Thanks,” said Peren, grinning. She was about to add more but stopped. A sinking feeling came over her. Something was wrong.
 

Lukian!

Her gaze snapped to Roi. “He’s hurt.”

“What?”

“He’s hurt,” she repeated.

“Who is?” asked Jon.

Peren touched her stomach lightly, the sinking feeling growing stronger with each passing second. “Lukian. He’s hurt. I know it. I can feel it.”

“Shit.” Roi moved in closer to her. “You need to stay here with Jon. I’ll go find the captain.”

“I’m not staying out here. I’m going with you. He needs me.”

Ignoring her outburst, Roi stared over her head at Jon. “Keep her out here and keep her safe.”

“Will do,” said Jon, talking as if she didn’t get a say in the matter.

Roi looked faraway in thought for a moment and then touched her arm gently. “I’ve contacted the rest of the team. No one can reach Lukian. Lance and Wilson are close. Green is with Melanie and Missy. They’re safe.”

He hadn’t called or radioed anyone, so she wasn’t sure how he’d contacted the other men. She was about to ask when a red dot appeared on Jon’s head.

“Get down!” yelled Roi, his body seeming to suddenly move in what felt like slow motion to her.

Peren threw her body toward Jon. In an instant, she was on him, knocking him to the ground. At the same second, it felt as if someone rammed a hot poker through her upper back.
 

Roi grabbed her and yanked her off Jon. The next she knew he had dragged her into the woods and behind a large brick wall that had been erected to add privacy to the property.

Jon moved up next to her, his amber gaze wide. “You saved my life.”
 

“Of course she did,” Roi said matter-of-factly. He leaned over her and pulled Peren’s shirt open. The cool night air on her breasts. She was more worried about the burning sensation that was growing in her chest than she was about her boobs showing.
 

She tried to reach up and see if, in fact, she was on fire. Roi caught her hands. He stared down at her with the same royal-blue eyes as Lukian and pushed her hair out of her face. He turned his head quickly toward the house and seemed to be listening to something that only he could hear.
 

“Lukian’s made contact. He’s in trouble,” he said, his voice low. He glanced over at Jon. “Shift and go get the others. You’ll make better time that way. Bring everything we’ve got in firepower and make sure Green comes with his medical supplies. Lukian is hurt, but he’s not the one I’m most worried about now.”
 

Peren knew without asking his concern was for her. “I’ll be okay. I’m a fast healer…always have been,” she said and coughed. Pain shot through her chest and she let out a small cry. “Wait? What do you mean by shift?

“Not the time to have this discussion,” he said, putting pressure on her wound. “Whoever did this made sure to use a silver bullet. That’s why you feel the burning. This strike has to be close to your heart. I don’t know how you’re talking and not dead. Green told us you don’t just have werewolf blood in you, but all fucking kinds of supernatural DNA in you. Every shifter I know of has issues with silver and I’m pretty sure vamps do too
.
Now
,
as for the Fae and lower-level demon DNA in you, I’m not sure how that reacts to silver.”

Peren lay there and soaked in Roi’s words.
Vampires, Fae, shifters, demons?
Every fiber of her being wanted to protest, but she knew what he was saying was the truth. Hearing it said aloud was hard. She closed her eyes and took a minute to try to accept the information.
 

“You’re a werewolf?” she asked awkwardly, unsure if she really wanted to hear him answer that.
 

“I can turn into a wolf
,
if that is what you mean. And before you ask, yes, I can lick my own balls when in shifted form.” Roi bent his head closer to her. “Rest now. Jon will look after you. I’m going to go get Lukian and kill whoever fucking decided to play games with us tonight.”

“My gut says you should wait for your team,” said Peren.

Jon gulped. “After having nearly been killed, I’m going to say let’s go with the little lady’s gut.” He yanked off his shirt and handed it to Peren.

She put it on and sat in stunned silence.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Lukian tried harder to reach Peren mentally. He failed. He did manage to reach his men telepathically, but it was a strain to do so. Roi was the only one he had an open link with. The bond between them had occurred because of the shared blood. The others he had to work at. He’d have a headache for a few days if he survived this, that much was sure—even if it wasn’t for the bump on his head.
 

Roi opened his mind to him, but let him in only enough to acknowledge him, then pushed him away. He’d informed Lukian that he and Jon were with Peren, but that was all. His reluctance to notify him of Peren’s status told Lukian that something was very wrong. He kept trying to reach Roi and Roi kept blocking him.
 

He yanked on the chains again. Someone had once told him of a lycanthrope that could regenerate severed limbs. He hoped this was true. He yanked harder and stopped only when he heard someone’s low laugh.
 

“Yank all damn night, you fool. You can’t get through them. Your lover is dead
.
”
 

Dead? Peren was dead?

No, he would have felt the loss of her. Their bond was stronger now and would only continue to grow with time. He stopped moving and listened to the voice again. He couldn’t get his body turned around to see who was talking, but the voice was familiar to him.
 

“It wasn’t my intent to shoot her. I wanted only to fuck her and claim her as my mate. The bitch got in the way of me killing the sniper.” A long sigh followed behind the man’s statement. “I’ve carried the memory of the sweet taste of her blood with me for over ten years. I watched from a distance, waiting for her to be of an age that she could accept me and mate with me. The time has come.”
 

Lukian’s stomach tightened. This lunatic wanted to fuck his Peren, his lover, his wife. He had to fight the urge to vomit. And what did he mean
,
shoot her? Peren had been shot?

No!

“I wasn’t sure she’d accept me. She’d turned down every man who’d ever asked her out and had never slept with a soul. As much as I wanted to be her first, I wanted more to know that she was my true mate. I bit the young one who caught her eye and watched as she took the man to her bed after that. His beast matured and he’d have been able to share his seed with her if I hadn’t stepped in.”
 

Lukian listened in disgust. This man—this thing—had purposely bitten another human to test compatibility? The man he’d done this to must have been Peren’s fiancé, Kyle, the one she’d felt so guilty about when she was with him. The one who had gone missing.

“Did you kill him?” Lukian asked.
 

A sharp laugh answered his question. “Of course I killed him. He intended to make her his wife and impregnate her. I couldn’t risk that. Every human I’ve fucked has left me unsatisfied since the transformation. I long to have my dick in the one meant for me.”
 

It was Lukian’s turn to laugh. “She’s not meant for you, asshole! She’s my mate now.”