Of Gods and Wolves (31 page)

“Vervain,” someone was kissing the side of my face, running a hand down my stomach, and whispering into my ear. “Wake up.”

My eyelids fluttered as I pushed sleep away and I was surprised to find an angel leaning over me. I smiled up at the angel, Gabriel or maybe Michael I think. He looked a little tough, and he smiled back but his smile wasn’t angelic, quite the opposite. In fact, I’d classify it more as a leer than a smile. As I puzzled that out, I realized the body he was pressing against me was completely naked.    

“Darius,” the knowledge hit me like an angry werewolf and that’s exactly what I’d have on my hands if Trevor ever found out about this.

“
There you are,” his leer softened into a more appropriate smile. “Do you need to use the bathroom before we get started?”

“
Uh, sure,” I got to my feet and followed him to a side door, keeping my eyes firmly on the back of his head, then went into the bathroom beyond. “Thanks,” I shut the door on him and went about my morning business.

After I splashed water in my face and told myself over and over that this really was happening, I went out to face the Intare. Thankfully, they were all dressed so they were relatively easy to face.

They went over the plan quickly with me. It was very simple, as the best plans usually are. Nyavirezi could use the boys against me, they were her biggest weapon, so they were simply going to grab Blue and get out of the way, out of the room, out of Dodge. They'd go tear Blue a new one while I’d hopefully kick Nyavirezi’s ass… permanently. Fallon had searched out a sword for me the night before, so I had a weapon and therefore a chance. 

“
Are you all sure about this?” I walked among them, looking at each of them and giving them all an opportunity to back out. “I don’t want you to be upset after the fact. If I kill her, it’s pretty permanent. We’re not even sure what will happen to all of you if she dies. What if you die with her?”

“
It will be better than living like this,” Fallon walked through the men and handed me the sword. “Does anyone disagree with me?”

He looked around and every man shook his head. It said a lot about Nyavvirezi's treatment of them that death was preferable or at least worth the risk of for freedom. Having seen just a sampling of her work, I didn't blame them.

“So mote it be,” I took the sword with calm determination and maybe just a little bit of righteousness. “If it's possible to not kill Blue, I'd appreciate it. We need to talk.” The thought of Blue dying kind of hurt my heart but he had literally thrown me to the lions, so it was hard to justify that hurt. If they killed him, I would accept it.

“
Blue?” Darius was in jeans again. I wasn't sure if I was grateful or not.

“
Blue,” right, we hadn't talked much about Nyavirezi's companion. “It's a nickname. Don't ask. I'm talking about Nyavirezi's friend in the gold armor. The one you're going to take care of.”

“
Oh, sure,” Darius frowned a little in confusion. I'm sure he thought the nickname an odd choice for the Aztec God of War but I really didn't have time to explain it to him. “Consider it taken care of.”

“
Great, thank you,” I went to hide next to the door so I could surprise Nyavirezi when she came in. I wasn’t above using every advantage I could against a goddess, against anyone really, when my life was at stake. Play dirty and live to feel bad about it. I think I might make that my new motto. If I lived through this.

An hour later found me sitting beside the door, still waiting on Nyavirezi. I had almost given up on her when I heard footsteps approaching. I guess they’d both slept in, snug as bugs in a rug, knowing I was being raped by lions just a few yards away. It must’ve been better than a hot toddy or a glass of milk. Torture your enemy. It’s the perfect cure for insomnia.

I shook off my dark thoughts as I stood and prepared myself. I was so scatter-brained half the time that a little pre-battle meditation was always a good thing. I took a few breaths and reviewed my grievances. Let’s see, she tried to torture me to death, she mistreated some of the hottest men on earth, taking them off the market and therefore mistreating all single women as well, she was in league with Blue, and she hurt Trevor(I was not going to even consider the possibility that he was dead), yep that’s enough for me. The bitch was going down. I centered myself just as the door opened.

For a moment, things were calm, even when I’d placed the tip of my blade to the back of Nyavirezi’s neck. Then the lions rushed the door, flowing gracefully around me and Nyavirezi but taking Blue out with them. It only took a few seconds before I was alone with the Lion Goddess.

I shoved the blade forward, hoping to end it before it had barely begun, but of course that was only wishful thinking. Nyavirezi slipped deftly aside, shifting as she went. I was still in   pain from the day before and it slowed me down just enough for her to have the upper hand.

She kicked out with a back leg and caught me in the thigh, making me stumble. I waved my arms out and recovered just in time to see her tail swish arrogantly. That really pissed me off. She thought this was going to be fun. Well I was about to ruin her play time.

I reached for my war magic and heard, for a second, the sound of steel clashing on steel. There was a roar in my head and in my veins, of shouted battle cries. I smelled the tang of death and felt the thunder of hooves vibrating the earth. On my lips was the salt of blood and sweat. New strength flowed through me, all my pain receding, and my arm lifted the sword as if it were just an extension of myself.

I stalked toward the lioness and she roared out her rage. She must have sensed the change in me or maybe she scented the magic. Either way, she wasn't happy anymore. I barely paid any attention to her tantrum though. My focus was on two things only, her neck and her chest. Either spot could gain me a kill, or get me killed. The sound of fighting came through the open door and the big cat head swung toward the distraction. I, however, stayed focused and used the opportunity to my advantage.

The turning of her head had bared her neck to me. I lunged in but once more, her reflexes were too fast. She twisted and the blow cut through her shoulder instead. She cried out again but this time in pain. Huge yellow eyes narrowed on me in a very human way and all my animal sympathies that were usually a hindrance to me when I fought shapeshifters, went out the window.

“
Thanks for last night,” I taunted her. “The boys are very hospitable.”

I watched her lean into her haunches, gathering her muscles, and I tensed in anticipation. I didn’t have long to wait, she was air-bound in moments. I had the pleasure of being the nimble one that time. I rolled expertly out of the way and ended up in a fighting stance behind her. She twisted quickly, then leaped again, and again she barely missed me.

“Is that all you got?” I sneered but then frowned when I realized there could be no banter. “Damn! Why’d you have to shift? It’s just not as fun if you don’t taunt me back. Didn’t you get the memo? Missed your weekly arch nemesis meeting? You’re supposed to rant and rage, telling me your plan to rule the world, in great detail, before you leave me to certain death at the hands of one of your minions. Oh wait, you don’t have any minions. They’ll all mine now.”

She lunged out with her humongous paw and actually landed a light scratch. I edged back and gave up the taunting in favor of concentrating on not getting killed. Fair trade I think.

She went on the offensive again, roaring and flailing powerfully. I ended up on my back and I wasn’t sure how I got there until I felt the burning in my side. My left side again, right over the bruises I was already sporting. She was so strong, she'd actually torn through the metal. I'd have to rethink the plates. Torn up as it was, the metal ended up hurting more than it was worth. Sharp edged metal pressing into a fresh cut is not the most enjoyable sensation. Maybe I'd have to switch to high impact plastic.

“
Fuck,” I hissed and stumbled to my feet. I wasn't there for long. She took me down again, not with a swipe but with both paws on my shoulder. My sword went flying and I heard my collarbone crack from the pressure. Such a small sound really but it heralded some immense pain and I screamed like a little girl. I was really embarrassed and I hoped the guys couldn’t hear me, wherever they’d taken Blue. Funny that, I was about to be savagely killed by a lion goddess and all I could think about was how embarrassingly I screamed.

The good thing was, my embarrassment took my mind off the pain and refocused it on the subject at hand. Mainly
not
getting savagely killed. Long, glistening teeth were inches from my face and her lion eyes were filled with triumph. My sword glinted at me from beneath a pool table, mockingly out of reach. There was only one thing left for me to do, only one trick left up my sleeve and it didn’t matter if it killed me because at that point it was just a question of how, not when. I’d rather be in charge of the how than let psycho kitty have the honor.

So I reached out for her magic, imagining the power being drawn into my body like I did when I gathered power for a spell. The triumph shining in her eyes became confusion but I knew better than to hesitate. I almost screwed things up the last time by hesitating, I wasn’t about to do that again. So I pulled strongly on the spark I found inside her, mentally gripping it with both hands and tearing it from her soul.

She jerked back and opened her mouth to roar but what came out was a very human, very feminine scream. If it hadn’t been so horrifying, I would’ve been relieved to hear her scream worse than I had. But it
was
horrifying, as well as deeply and psychologically wounding, watching a lioness writhe and scream with a woman’s voice. I knew I had fodder for years worth of nightmares, as I stood to face her.

I closed my eyes and focused on the power, on the bright rivers of energy flowing into me, the strength of the magic melding with my bones. I felt my wolf rise up, almost in challenge to the new power. They faced off for a moment, pausing the transfer, before my Nahual inserted herself between them and forced them to get along for the greater good. The lioness padded through me, finding a space all her own and then stretching out till I thought my skin would burst.

Then the power hit me and I fell to my knees. It was warm, thick fur, quiet strength, musky sex, and the calm confidence of a predator. I heard a thundering sound, like hundreds of lions roaring at once, and smelled the comforting scent of clean cat, thick in my nose. It was like burying my face into Nick… times ten… thousand. Heat zipped along my skin, tingling over my body in waves until finally receding to a pulsing thrum of energy.

I tried to open my eyes but images flashed before me, replacing the carpet with rocky soil, the room with open grassland, and I shut them again quickly. They continued even brighter against my eyelids, the ground was flying beneath my feet, no… my paws. A herd of some sort of long legged, deer-like animal ran before me. I leaped and felt my teeth sink into a furry neck. Warm blood flowed into my mouth and it tasted good, so good. Sweet-salty heaven flowing down my throat, giving its life for mine. I shook my head free of the image but when I opened my eyes, I was closer to the floor than I should’ve been. I blinked slowly in confusion and opened my mouth to say, “What the hell?” but all that came out was a growl.

Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh shit!

I looked down and saw paws. There, beneath me, were thick limbs covered in golden fur. I swung my head, looked over my shoulder, and saw my tail swish quickly in agitation.

I guess I shouldn’t have been so shocked. I mean what else would Nyavirezi’s power have been? But you try shifting into a four-hundred pound lioness. You would have needed some recovery time too. Unfortunately, I didn’t get it.

A small whimper drew my attention. Nyavirezi was dying. I was a little surprised she wasn’t dead already. I padded over to her and she stared at me in terror. I’d never seen such stark horror before and I never would have imagined it could thrill me like it did.

On top of her delicious fear, I felt great. All my cuts, scrapes, and broken bones had healed in the change. I roared triumphantly, the sound echoing back to me from the walls, and pressed into her shoulders like she’d done to me. She had changed back to human and it was human fear I smelled on her, human fear that excited the animal I’d become.

Without thought, I closed my mouth over her neck and ended what would have been a slow death, quickly. Maybe I should have let her slip away, maybe she deserved every second of pain I could give her, and I'd most likely regret it later but the lioness was too strong in me at that moment and animals didn't engage in torture. It's just another sign of their moral superiority to humans I guess.

With her blood, came the last of her magic, rushing over my tongue in metallic vibrancy. It whizzed through my veins like it was looking for the finish line, while her life blinked out softly. Dying was probably the most gentle thing she’d ever done. Just a whisper of breath as I crunched through her neck like a Ritz cracker. I knew I should be horrified but it just felt so amazing, tasted so luscious; warm, silky and thick. That's what life tastes like and I wanted more, I wanted it all. No wonder Trevor loved the hunt.

Trevor.

I saw his face clearly, his honey-eyes boring into mine with disapproval. “We never eat human flesh,” I could hear his voice inside my head. “We may hunt them, we may kill, but we do not eat of their flesh. We are not just animals, we are the children of gods.”

I shook my head, droplets of blood flying everywhere. I wasn’t an animal, and I wasn’t a god but I
was
human. I hoped. I’d cling stubbornly to that until someone proved otherwise.

The body beneath me, suddenly sickened me and I backed away until I was huddled near the door, naked and shivering in my human body. I don't know how or when I'd changed back but as I rubbed my arms frantically, I realized it was skin beneath my fingers and I was grateful to be back in my own, as it were.

“Shouldn't have fucked with me,” I whispered to Nyavirezi's corpse.

I'm not sure how long I sat there looking at Nyavirezi, watching the blood puddle grow, rubbing my limbs, and trying to be as human as possible. It could have been a few minutes, it could have been a few hours, but I didn’t focus on anything else until a pair of jean-clad legs blocked my view. I looked up them slowly and was instantly soothed by the sight of Darius.

His eyes widened as he took me in. It probably had something to do with me being naked and covered in blood. He dropped to his knees and inhaled sharply before he brushed the hair back from my face tenderly. I saw his body shiver, muscles quivering, triggering an instant and violent response in me.

I wanted him. I could smell the desire on him, richer and sweeter than cheesecake. I licked my lips as a purr vibrated my chest. My purr! He leaned his head in and laid it gently on my shoulder, silky hair falling over my hot skin like rain on summer asphalt, cooling and steaming at the same time. His breath caressed my chest as intimately as I wanted him to kiss me and with no other thoughts in my head, I started to reach for him.

A wolf howl resounded inside my head, countered by the roar of a lioness. Claws to claws, teeth to teeth, my allegiances were being ripped apart from within. The ludicrous battle of my inner beasts effectively woke me out of my lust induced stupor. I pushed Darius away gently but firmly and the cacophony quieted. I took a deep breath, looked around, and finally noticed that all the Intare were there… and I was still naked.

“
Can someone please get me something to wear?” I pulled my wild hair around me and stared up at them. More than a few of them took in deep breaths and drew closer but I heard one pair of footsteps break away and hoped he was fetching some clothing. “So the good news is, I won,” I tried my best to smile at them and act as if almost snogging Darius while I was naked and covered in blood, was a normal occurrence. “But there's a bit of a side effect. I had to take Nyavirezi’s powers. It looks like I’m one of you now.”

They all dropped to their knees beside Darius, just as Fallon came in with a cotton robe. I thanked him and pulled it around me as I stood up. I was a little dismayed to see how I instantly stained the pure white fabric, blood is such a bitch to get out, but I was even more discomfited when Fallon fell to his knees with the others.

“What are you guys doing?” I sighed as I belted the robe. “A simple thank you will be fine… and maybe some pointers on this lion magic.”

“
It’s not lion magic,” whispered Darius who still hadn’t moved from the spot I’d pushed him back into. “It’s
lion
ess
magic and you are the new lioness. You’re our new Tima and I for one, am glad of it.”

There was a strong murmur of agreement and then a lust haze so thick, I almost fell to the floor when it hit me. My whole body trembled in response, my eyes closing and my head lulling back. They were all mine and I wanted them, needed to feel their bodies against mine, inside of mine. I cried out as the wolf clawed my insides again, howling in rage. This time it actually hurt. I would have been pissed but the pain really helped clear the fog-o-lust.