Lords of the Were (23 page)

“And this Elspian Ring is what Vabian used to trick me into helping him, right? It’s the same thing.”

Duncan sighed. “A rare, evil, powerful thing, known only to a few.

And now I have proof the Venifucus are using it. All the pieces start falling into place.”

“What do you mean?”

Duncan stood abruptly. “No. I will say no more until we meet with the were lords. You all need to hear my fears at once to avoid…difficulties.” Dante scoffed. “Difficulties? What are you afraid of?”

“To be honest? That you’ll go haring off on your own when together is the only way we even have a chance of stopping the wheels this Vabian has undoubtedly set in motion.”

“If your theories are correct.”

Duncan nodded, looking tired. “If my theories are correct, yes. But I fear with near certainty they are. Else the Lady would not have freed me at this time, in this place.”

Dante mastered his spinning head and stood. “All right then, let’s go back to those were wolves. The sooner I hear this mysterious theory of yours, the sooner we can all get to work killing that little weasel Vabian.” Duncan followed him out the door and to the truck without comment. Dante noticed immediately the presence of the were wolves watching his every move. Funny, he hadn’t noticed them the night before, though he knew they must’ve followed him. Duncan and he were easy enough to follow in the big truck.

He’d known Tim and Rafe wouldn’t let him wander around their territory without setting some sort of guard. What amazed him was the way his newly sharpened senses allowed him to pick out and identify each and every one of the were in the vicinity, even those in the trees above his head.

“If you’d rather ride than run, hop in the truck bed,” Dante called with a chuckle, feeling the currents of surprise as he addressed the forest.

Only one brave soul padded forward to hop up into the truck bed and Dante knew he did it more as a statement than out of any sort of friendship. It was the priestess’ uncle, Tom. How Dante knew that, when he’d never seen the man in his fur before, he didn’t quite understand, but the knowledge was undeniable. He nodded to the cougar as he circled the truck bed until he found a comfortable spot and lay down.

“I’ll try not to hit too many potholes, Tom.” The cougar yowled once in acknowledgment and then settled down for the ride as Dante and Duncan loaded themselves into the wide cab.

“You sense them, don’t you?” Duncan said softly when they were on their way.

Dante nodded. “It’s amazing. I knew they were there before, but unless I actually saw them, I wouldn’t have been able to tell where. Now I can feel them. Not just in general, but I know who they are. I can tell their energies one from the other. And I see the glow of energy all around them.”

Duncan nodded. “They are powerful, blessed beings, for the most part. Every once in a while their powers get twisted somehow, or misguided, but most often, the were are honorable beings, blessed by the Lady. So it has been for more centuries than I have lived.” They pulled up to the small house set on the edge of the national park and Tom bounded out the back of the truck, heralding their arrival.

The door opened and what looked like a much calmer Rafe greeted the two new arrivals.

“We’ve been waiting for you.”

Dante felt a pang rush through him at the casual friendliness coming from the man. Friendship was something he hadn’t allowed himself to

experience in far too long. He’d been so hurt each time he’d let others into his life in any way, but it was time to try again. Dante knew this, but still it frightened him. There was very little in this world a vampire of his power could fear. Already though, this man and his brother were creeping into his awareness, as was their pretty mate. Without his volition, he knew if anything happened to any one of them, it would hurt him deeply.

Dante sighed, realizing it was far too late to worry about that now.

They were already friends. All he could do at this point was help keep them as safe as possible so as to avoid the hurt he would feel if they fell victim to the evil he had unwittingly helped find them.

The war council was much as it had been the night before. The were folk had sent out scouts to search for Vabian, to no avail, it seemed.

“There is something else I must impart, and it bodes ill for us all.” Duncan captured everyone’s attention with his somber tone. “The presence of the Elspian Ring here and now ties in with things I learned when last I walked in this realm. The villain who murdered Elian d’Angleterre used this same forbidden magic. I found traces of it lingering at the site of the boy’s death two centuries later. It had to be dark and violent magic indeed to leave such a trail.”

“D’Angleterre?” One of the twins questioned softly. “Was he your brother?”

Dante nodded, unable to answer aloud and keep his façade of calm.

Emotion rose in him, threatening to overwhelm his usual control.

“The lad was murdered by the same magic that is being used to hunt you now,” Duncan said gravely, bringing everyone’s attention back to him.

“So then the Venifucus killed Dante’s brother centuries ago.” Surprisingly it was one of the were twins who radiated understanding toward Dante.

Duncan nodded. “And it is my belief that the Venifucus also had a hand in the firewitch Erik’s death that I’ve been told about.”

“So they’ve been targeting Dante for centuries?” Rocky, the old grizzly sounded incredulous and humblingly sympathetic.

“I believe so.” Duncan bowed his head slightly. “That means there is more afoot here than seems on the surface. The Venifucus target Dante, I believe, to try to turn him to their evil. He would be a strong ally for their cause.” Suspicious eyes turned to regard Dante from all around the room, but Duncan went right on speaking. “They target the priestesses to eliminate any resistance, but they must be working toward some end, deeper than that which we see.”

Grim faces showed all around.

“If the Venifucus are working toward some greater goal, we have to find out what it is if at all possible.” Duncan’s voice hardened with determination. “The safety of more than just this realm may be at stake.” Silence shrouded the room until one of the twins rose to gather the map and spread it out on the wide coffee table. The alphas all around renewed their efforts, focused now as never before.

Dante was seething inside, though he projected his usual calm demeanor. He’d perfected the air of tranquility over the centuries of his painful existence. Still, he understood Duncan’s caution. If the Venifucus really were targeting him—and he felt certain at this point something like that was going on—then he owed them retribution for his brother’s and Erik’s deaths. Who knew what other tragedies in his long existence could also be laid at the feet of Venifucus agents? Vampire blood was slow to boil, but Dante was fast losing patience. He would hunt these Venifucus to the ends of the earth for what they’d done to those he loved. He would make them pay for their evil deeds and put a stop to them once and for all.

But he needed allies. Duncan, certainly, was his most powerful ally to date, but the were folk could not be discounted. Even though he’d felt no love for them in the past, Dante knew he could work with these twins to corner and kill Patrick Vabian. All of them had something at stake in this hunt, and he would work with them to bring Vabian to justice. After that though, the rest of the Venifucus were his—whether the were lords wanted to help or not.

“If we can get him here,” Duncan was saying as he pointed to a spot on the topographical map. “I’ll have a chance of banishing him to the Farthest Realm. This is a place of ancient power.”

“You mean the circle of stones, right? That’s the only thing that’s up there and it’s well hidden, overgrown in the forest. Only the were know about it, or we’d be overrun with New Agers.” Ryan rolled his eyes as he looked over the map with keen interest.

“Yes, a faerie ring on a large scale.” Duncan nodded. “It could be of some use in trapping the mage. On our side, Dante is sure to be able to see the Elspian Ring now. He’s growing accustomed to the new powers my blood has given him. He can watch from the sky and warn us of the mage’s traps.”

Dante chuckled from his standing position near the fireplace. “So that’s why you did it.”

“That’s one of my reasons, old friend. There were many.”

“Testing me among them,” Dante challenged, still a little miffed at the cavalier way Duncan had toyed with his existence.

Duncan nodded gravely. “You should know,” he turned to Rafe and Tim, “that my blood was bespelled. Had Dante been tainted by evil, it would have turned to poison in his system. His continued existence means he passed my test. His soul is still noble, though his sarcasm might have you believe otherwise.”

“I already knew that.” Tim surprised Dante by stepping forward. “I sensed it when he switched sides to help us protect Allie. And I knew it when I gave him my blood.”

Duncan turned questioning eyes on him. “You have a blood bond with him?”

Dante nodded as the fey knight started to smile. “Then this will work out even better than I’d hoped.”

Allie woke after dark, deliciously sated and wonderfully sore in intimate places. She was warm and comfortable, and surprisingly clean, blushing as she realized her boys had taken care of her yet again.

After a quick shower, Allie dressed in comfy sweats and headed for the living room. She heard the masculine voices before she entered and something inside her shivered as she heard the relaxed note in Rafe’s voice. It hadn’t ever been there before. No matter how carefree he’d seemed, she realized hearing him now, he hadn’t been fully at peace with their relationship…until now.

She felt a light in her heart as she thought of how precious he was to her, how dear. She was so happy she could give that to him, so glad to have his care and love in return. He’d made her feel cherished and needed in a way she’d never expected. His demands on her had been steep, but he hadn’t gone too far, had been careful in fact, of pushing her beyond her boundaries, but together they’d all learned her boundaries went pretty far indeed. She blushed thinking about what they’d done to her, what she’d let them do and what she wanted them to do more of.

She hadn’t known she was so adventurous or kinky, but she was fast learning new facets of herself with these amazing men.

And they were hers. All hers.

Smiling, she entered the room and all eyes turned to her. Her uncles stopped her for a brief greeting, but no other dared waylay her on her way to her mates. She went to them, uncaring of those following her progress, and took her place between them on the wide couch.

“What did I miss?”

She kissed Rafe on the cheek, then turned to Tim, giving him the same light buss.

“We were just discussing the circle of stones,” Duncan said with an elegant bow of his head in her direction.

“Oh, you mean that clearing where we went on Samhain for the ceremony?”

“The very same,” came a soft, feminine voice from the entry by the hall. Duncan stood quickly and went over to the small woman, supporting her to a chair quickly vacated by one of the older were alphas.

“You should still be abed, cousin,” Duncan chastised Betina softly as he settled her in the chair. She was wearing an oversized terry robe that had been left in the guestroom and a pair of Allie’s fuzzy pink slippers.

“Resting in bed or resting here in this chair. It’s all the same.” She waved him away.

Allie stood and went to her side. “It is not, Betty, and you know it.” Allie took the afghan from the back of the couch and tucked it around the older woman, careful of her injuries and mindful of how pale she still was.

“Oh, all right, but I’m needed here. My dear cousin is good, but he hasn’t been in this realm in centuries and some things have changed that he might not recognize.” Betty nodded significantly at her. “The role of women, being one.” With a slight wink, Betty sent her back to the couch and captured the attention of everyone in the room. “Now what is this about the stone circle?”

Allie sat back down between her men, catching her breath when Rafe slid one of his hands onto her knee. Tim did the same on the other side and she waited to see if they would dare move their hands farther. Lucky for her sanity, they stayed right there on her knees, but their warmth was definitely distracting. And comforting.

“If we can get the mage to that place of power, we can trap him,” Duncan was explaining.

“But how do you intend to get him there? He doesn’t want any of you.” Betina’s shrewd eyes turned to Allie and the others in the room followed suit.

“He wants me,” Allie said in a firm voice, sounding far braver than she felt inside. Yet, she knew she had to do this. She had to help in her own protection, to take an active role with the men she chose to spend her life with. She had to do this now, or she would forever be diminished, her status with the were folk somehow less. “I’ll lead him into the trap.”

“Like hell you will.” Tim’s growling voice carried through the room as his hand on her knee dug in almost painfully. Rafe’s hand tightened too.

A show of force was required, she realized, and with the buildup of power she was experiencing, it would be easy enough. Directing it through her hands, she touched each of her mate’s hands on her knees with a single, jolting finger. They immediately let go, clutching their tingling fingers to their chests as they scowled at her.

“What’d you do that for?”

Rafe sounded hurt more deeply than she would have guessed. She felt bad, but she knew she had to remain strong in the face of their anger. This was important. These next few weeks would set the tone for the rest of their years together and she had to start off on the right foot with both her mates and their people.

She stood, bringing Rafe’s and then Tim’s hands to her mouth and kiss them better. Using a little surge of her new power, she took the hurt away, soothing them with her healing touch.

“I’m sorry, but you need to know I’m not completely defenseless. I have power and a few skills now too. Maybe I don’t have were senses, strength or speed, but I’ve got some abilities you don’t and I’m not a weakling to be coddled and protected every moment of the day and night.