Kraven (VLG Series Book 2) (13 page)

Bat stared at the group of people milling around a dirt road in the distance. Two trucks were parked there. A few men approached them but they at least wore pants. Most of them didn’t have shirts on. She noticed everyone seemed to be really fit and muscular.

Kraven stopped when they reached the group and eased her down on her feet, mindful of the shirt she wore so he didn’t flash the fact she wasn’t wearing underwear. He took her hand, keeping a firm grip on it. She squeezed back, not willing to let him go either.

“Good to see you, Kraven.” The speaker was a short-haired man maybe in his early twenties. “We were worried when we heard the plane went down.”

“Did a rescue crew reach the survivors?” Kraven looked at the men.

“Yes. A human rescue crew found them yesterday afternoon. We ran into a couple of searchers in the woods, who said two couples had disappeared. We told them we’d found you and got you to safety, so they’d stop the search,” another guy explained. “We didn’t want anyone to get in our way.”

“We had a few problems. Decker sent some men after the women,” Kraven announced.

The twenty-something man glared at Bat. “Who the hell are they?” He sniffed and frowned, gawking a little at Kraven. “Why is your scent all over her?”

“She’s
mine
.” He kept his voice low. “I need to talk to my dad. We’ll discuss this later, after we reach home.” He jerked his head toward Bat. “Enough for now. Got it?”

The men grew quiet. They threw glances at her but it was clear Kraven didn’t want them to speak in front of her anymore. She was coming out of her shock enough to function, but it was still tough. Bat wondered if she needed a drink or a doctor more. Both seemed in order.

A good-looking man in his mid-thirties approached. His hair was down to his shoulders and he was fully dressed. Kraven let go of Bat’s hand and pulled her closer to his body, putting an arm around her. She let him, still trying to fumble through her thoughts and everything she’d seen.

The new guy stopped a few feet away—and didn’t look happy as he gave her the once-over with a sweep of his gaze. Then he fixed his dark blue eyes on Kraven.

“Drantos informed me of the situation.”

That perked her up, and she swiveled her head, searching for any sign of Dusti. She spotted her near one of the trucks. She looked okay. She silently urged her sister to look her way.

“This is Batina.” Kraven bumped against her. “This is my father, and our clan leader, Velder.” He paused. “Remember what I said.”

She stared up at Velder and blurted the first thing that came to her mind. “Bullshit.”

“Fuck,” Kraven sighed.

She recovered. “Sorry.” She cleared her throat. “You can’t be his father.”

Kraven ducked his head and shook it. Then he glared at her. “Why not? I’m dying to hear this.”

“You look about the same age.”

“VampLycans age differently than humans do. He
is
my father.”

Well, she
could
see a resemblance. “Okay.”

Kraven grumbled. “I know that tone.” He released her and grabbed her arms, twisting her until they were almost nose to nose when he leaned close. “He’s my father. My biological, fucked-my-mother-and-knocked-her-up-with-me
father
. Got it?”

“You don’t have to get so testy about it.”

“Is that really necessary? You’re being crude.” Velder stepped closer.

Kraven released her and ran his fingers through his hair. “Let’s get out of here. Decker has men in the area. I’ll explain everything later. Just don’t let her piss you off. You’ve been warned. She’s an attorney from L.A. Add in the fact that she was raised in a human world and didn’t know about us. She has a mouth on her that would make a saint turn into a raging homicidal maniac.”

Velder’s eyes seemed to darken. “Don’t talk to me that way.”

Kraven dropped his hand to his side. “Sorry. It’s been a trying few days.”

Velder reached out and gripped his shoulder. “I understand. We’re all on edge. It’s time to head out. She’s your responsibility until we reach the village. Then I’ll have her assigned to someone else.”

“
No
.” He paused. “I’ll be the one she stays with. I haven’t explained it to her yet but the blood tells. Do you understand?”

Velder growled. He studied Bat again, taking her in from head to toe. “That’s what your brother implied about the
other
one. Nature can’t be that cruel. I won’t allow it.”

Kraven suddenly moved, putting himself between her and the other man. “Dad,” he whispered. “Don’t do this. Don’t put me in this situation. You know me too well.”

“You just said she’s disrespectful and she angers you.”

“All true but it doesn’t change anything. I’ll leave
with
her if you won’t allow her to stay.”

“We’ll deal with this mess later. I already had this fight with Drantos. Right now we need to get back to the village. I’m worried about what Decker is planning, and if he got the GarLycans involved… They could attack.”

“Of course.” Kraven nodded. “Come on, Bat.” He grabbed her hand.

She tried to jerk away. “Not so fast.”

He spun on her. “Don’t. For one damn time, just nod and do what you’re told. Is that really too difficult for you? You thought I was bat-shit crazy this morning but now you know the truth. You’re way out of your league, Hellion. Shut up and come with me. We’ll have this out later, when everyone isn’t watching us.”

She nodded, conceding that he had a point. “Fine.” She glanced around, spotting Dusti again. “Can I talk to my sister?”

“After we’re home. Let’s go.” He hauled her toward one of the trucks.

A woman handed him a piece of material as they passed the truck’s open passenger door, and Kraven accepted it. “Thanks.”

He led Bat to the open tailgate and surprised her when he suddenly dropped to his knees and released her hand. He opened the sarong and wrapped it around her waist, tying it at her hip. He looked up.

“Thank you.” She felt better with most of her legs covered.

“You’re welcome.” He stood and hoisted her up into the bed of the truck. “Take a seat.”

There were benches on each side of the bed. She sat near the front and Kraven took a seat next to her. He kept close. Bat looked over the top of the cab and watched her sister get into the other truck. Drantos wasn’t with her but she recognized Red.

“Where’s your brother, and why isn’t he with my sister?”

Kraven followed her gaze and frowned. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s doing something for our father.”

“Can’t we go to that truck?”

“You’ll get to talk to Dusti soon. The priority right now is getting back home where we’re safer in numbers. It’s unknown how many of your grandfather’s enforcers are out here looking for you.”

She frowned, remembering what he’d told her. “He really wants to hand me over to some rock guy?”

“GarLycan. Yes.”

“Does this GarLycan shift into something with hair too?”

“He can grow wings from his back and turn into stone.”

She bit her lip, trying to imagine that. It wasn’t pretty. “For real?”

“Yes.”

“I’d just tell this GarLycan that I’m not interested in being his lover.”

“Aveoth wouldn’t care what you wanted. It’s your blood he craves. You’d be held prisoner at the cliffs.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s just like it sounds. Tall, sheer cliffs where they live in caves. I’ve only seen the place once from a distance, when I was an adolescent. You’d be trapped thousands of feet above ground with no way to get down.”

“How do they— Oh. They can fly. I was wondering how these things get up there.”

“GarLycans, not things.”

“Whatever.” Bat reached down and played with the soft material of the sarong.

Kraven leaned in closer. “How are you holding up?”

She held his gaze. “I don’t know.”

He surprised her by wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her closer. “It’s going to be fine, Bat. I’ll never allow anything to happen to you. That is one thing you can depend on.”

He was being sweet and she didn’t understand why. “You don’t even like me. I’ve been such a bitch.”

He shrugged. “Maybe I like bitches.” He smiled to soften his words. “I
do
like you, despite the shit you give me.” He lifted his other hand and caressed her cheek. “Trust me for once.”

“Your father hates me.”

“Don’t worry about him.”

“You look the same age.”

“It’s how it is. Didn’t your mother look young?”

“It’s good genes.”

“For those with VampLycan blood. She wouldn’t have aged if she’d lived. Not the way a human does. I’m sorry you lost her so young.”

It hurt. She was starting to believe everything Kraven had told her…and with it came the pain of betrayal.

“She never said a word, Kraven. Not one. She talked about growing up in Alaska. She loved the woods but she said she never got along with her father. He was controlling and wanted to run her life. That’s all she shared about him. Nothing about how they weren’t human, or that he was dangerous to us. I should have known though. We always moved when he found us. And Dusti saw it. She’s always hated him. Why didn’t I see it?”

The truck engine started and the driver pulled forward on the dirt road. Kraven braced his legs, keeping a tight hold on her. “Perhaps Antina realized you couldn’t shift, so she thought she was protecting you by letting you believe you were fully human. I’m certain she didn’t do it to be cruel. You gave me the impression that she loved you.”

The truck turned around on the side of the road and Bat clutched Kraven and the edge of the bench seat as they drove over a few large rocks. They were heading away from the clearing. She had a lot of questions for her mother but she’d never get the chance to know the answers. It wasn’t fair.

They’d just hit a dense area of trees when something slammed hard into the side of the truck. It happened so fast that there was only a big bang and then Bat was being thrown.

Kraven had latched on to her and they hit the ground with her on top of him. He cursed, rolled, and tried to rise up.

Bat opened her eyes, stunned to find herself flat on her back on the grass.

A huge hairy monster slammed into Kraven, shoving him back down on top of her. Pain radiated throughout her body and the last thing she heard before everything turned black was Kraven’s cry of pain.

Kraven twisted his body, fighting the enforcer who had attacked him from behind. The son of a bitch had his claws and fangs dug into his back, tearing into him in an attempt to rip out his spine. He managed to get ahold of its throat and shred major veins with his own claws. The beast fell away, gasping for breath. He watched it almost collapse but it struggled into the thick woods.

He looked down at Bat. Her eyes were closed but she breathed. The steady rise and fall of her chest assured him. He tried to rise to his feet but his injuries prevented that. A quick glance around told him that his clan fought against some of Decker’s. He needed to get Bat to safety but the pain in his back was too great and his legs refused to respond. The enforcer had succeeded in crippling him.

He saw two more enforcers from Decker’s clan rush out of the woods and he folded himself over Bat, adjusting his body as best he could to hide her from them. His injures were severe enough that his bleeding might mask her scent. He bent his arms to hold up some of his body weight so she wouldn’t suffocate under him if he lost consciousness.

He closed his eyes and played dead. The enemy would go after the ones still posing a threat. He really needed to get Bat out of there. His mouth was close to her throat. A decision needed to be made…

He gripped the tank top she wore and tugged it to the side to reveal her shoulder.

Forgive me
, he thought.

Then he opened his mouth and sank his fangs into her skin.

The taste of her blood exploded in his mouth. It only reinforced that Bat was his mate. He drank until he could feel his body beginning to heal. He didn’t want to take too much so he removed his fangs, bit his own tongue, and licked at the puncture marks to seal them.

It hurt like a motherfucker as the damage to his back continued to heal. It took time for the infusion of fresh blood to work on him, since he was more Lycan than Vampire. He was on the mend though. He just needed the damage to his spine to heal enough so he’d be able to grab Bat and run.

A loud growl behind him—too close—had him holding his breath. Someone sniffed at his back, the hot breath fanning his skin. The bastard backed away and snarled, going after someone else.

Kraven took a shallow breath, and then another.

Come on
, he urged his body.
Heal, damn it. I need to get my mate to safety.

He turned his head just slightly, peeking through thick lashes. He spotted the other truck and Dusti. She was crouched near the front of it. She surprised him when she ran toward their truck. She kept low but sprinted with more speed than he’d give a human credit for. It was probably fear motivating her.