Valiant Heart (4 page)

“Lance, you have no idea what we've been talking about.” Kelly moved toward him, hands raised like she was cornering a wild animal.

I smirked as I shot a knowing look in Greer's direction. She was raptly watching the scene play out, amused no doubt that Kelly was even bothering to calm the man down. As if a Hunter could control any Huntress.

“These women are not what they seem, Kelly.” Lance was furious, rightly so perhaps, but coming off as a raging lunatic. “Open your damn eyes.”

Kelly flinched and halted, her expression losing any softness she'd had moments before. “My eyes are open. For the first time in years, they are wide open. These women are Huntresses and they are offering me a chance to empower myself and find Andrew. What the hell are you so scared of?”

“Your power, sister,” Greer whispered. “That's what they're all afraid of.”

Lance shot a hard look at Greer, ignoring me completely. His eyes softened when he returned his gaze to Kelly. “I'm afraid of losing
you
, Kelly.”

Ouch.
Okay, that was not expected. Both the declaration and the pain it caused me. I frowned and turned away, walking toward the window, attempting to shake it off. Wow, what was that I felt? Jealousy? Betrayal? I rubbed my chest with my back turned, the spot just over my heart keenly hurting.

“Lance, you're not going to lose me, don't be silly. I love everyone here. How could I ever leave?” Kelly's tone was tender, and there was love in her words; I could hear it. “But I need to be strong again to be an effective leader. Greer is offering me that. I have to go with her.”

“Then I'm coming,” Lance said.

I spun to face him, my eyes snapping to Greer, watching in horror as she merely shrugged and said, “As you wish.”

I opened my mouth to argue, anger rising to a boil when Greer's voice was in my head once again.
“Calm down, Ariana.”

“He attempted to bond with me, Greer. Your order put my loyalty in danger.”

Her laughter echoed in my brain.
“Nonsense. I never fear your loyalty, Ariana. Allow Kelly her champion. It's no concern of ours and when the time is right, unburden yourself from his influence on your heart.”

“You want me to kill him?”

“You will do what you must, Ariana, as you always do
.”

Chapter Five

The Truth

Lance's gaze followed Ariana's retreating form as she sauntered out of the sitting room with her leader. Not even one glance over her shoulder, not one. His impulse was to follow her, grab her by the arm, and demand to know why she'd stopped the bonding as she had, in the manner that she had. He crossed his arms and ground his jaw tight, his teeth aching with the pressure. His balls were still aching too after her dirty play.

She'd said no—fine, he knew that—but in the heat of the moment, when her eyes were telling him how satisfied she was, how much they belonged together, he'd gone on instinct alone. Marking her was the only way things should be. And yet it was not what she wanted and he couldn't fathom why.

“Allan is dead,” Kelly said as she slumped into one of the chairs, her body showing the exhaustion she obviously felt.

Lance frowned as he snapped his mind away from any more thoughts of Ariana. Or at least, that was what he was telling himself. “In battle?”

“By a blade.” Kelly looked up at him warily. “Not a beast.”

“Talia then.” Lance shook his head, anger and frustration making him want to punch something. Hard. “She's unfit for rehabilitation. She should stand trial, face penalty. That woman has brought nothing but disaster here, including those fucking Amazon Huntresses.”

“I doubt that her rehabilitation will be a pleasant one with Greer,” Kelly said as she rubbed her hand over her face, ignoring his jab. “The scholars are preparing a funeral pyre for sunrise.”

“And then what? You really believe that they're going to help you find Andrew?” Lance scoffed, pacing in front of her.

“Yes, I do.” Kelly leaned forward. “Lance, sit down for god's sake! Your pacing is making me dizzy.”

Lance growled as he threw his hands up. “I feel like we're sitting on a powder keg right now, set to blow. There's something not right about this situation, I can feel it.”

Kelly nodded to the seat in front of her as she leaned back in hers. He grudgingly complied with a frustrated sigh.

“We need them, Lance.”

“Like hell—”

She raised her hand, her expression stern. “No, we do need them, whether you or the scholars want to admit it.” She sighed. “I'll be honest, their way of doing things is very…different, but they're Huntresses and we are in desperate need of more of them. That, you can't deny.”

Lance took her words for what they were, not defeat but truth. Their history of successfully finding Huntresses hadn't been great and without Kelly's ability to locate them with her powers—the ancient text that guided them was all they had and it wasn't the most efficient either. For years, they'd been losing women to the wolves. For some reason the beasts, in particular those led by Lazarus, were able to get to the Huntresses first. And then they would die. Brutally and without understanding why or what they actually were. A rich legacy of information, a history of their ancient roots never being imparted.

The ancient lines of Huntress breeding families had scattered during the Burning Times, and finding them was frustrating to say the least. It had proven to be like searching for hundreds, thousands, of invisible needles in a world of haystacks. For Greer and her women to come in such numbers was exciting, almost impossible to fathom. And begged the question: how were they so easily locating Huntresses? Or at least, how were they—with their numbers here twenty at least—able to gather ten times what the Order could?

“Fine,” Lance grumbled. “We need them. But they have their own terms which don't serve the Order at all.”

Kelly cocked an eyebrow.

“They won't bond. Which means they have no loyalty to the Hunters and go without our knowledge, skill and power.”

“They have powers of their own.” Kelly laughed lightly. “It's ingenious really. A survival strategy that you've got to admire. The scholars turned on them, Lance—turned on all Huntresses during the Burning Times. Greer and her women found a way to take that power back. They may not serve the Order but they share our mandate: protect humans from the beasts. It's a start at least.”

“A start of what?” Lance stood from his seat, feeling like he needed to move to help his muddled brain think.

“We're outnumbered. It's just me and Candy here. I'm too weak and Candy is too young. Her powers may have been ignited and amplified by Jer's bond but they've yet to fully bloom. She needs time and we need help.” Kelly motioned around her. “This place is entering a new age, forced into it when Lazarus was finally killed. Morgan and Cal left, Lance, and Talia is gone, Hannah presumably reclaimed by her wolf. We have no power backing us and I need mine returned.”

“We can call Cal and Morgan! Great idea! Forget these women, send them on their way. We can ask for Cal and Morgan to come and help you find your beast.”

“No, we can't. I can't ask them to do that. Morgan is leading her life as she wants to. I can't deny her her time now, not for such a selfish reason.”

“So you'd rather go with a radical? A Huntress who scoffs at everything we stand for? Greer.” He sneered. “There's always something more to that woman's words. I don't trust her.”

“And your Huntress? Do you trust her?” Kelly's question was edged with hurt.

“No,” Lance spat the word as his mind flashed back to the shower, the pain in his balls with each step he took another reminder. “But you know how this works. What my mind says and what my body says are two different things where my Huntress is concerned.”

“And that's why you need to come on this trip, right? Because you can't be parted from her.”

Lance stopped to look at Kelly, guilt tugging on his heart. They hadn't been intimate—they hadn't betrayed her vows to Andrew—but over the months since he'd been gone, they'd gotten very close. So close that Lance had begun to think that maybe the bonding process gave Huntresses second chances. She would make him a fine partner. Beautiful, kind, strong, accomplished and matching his leadership style and beliefs. Perfect really. He'd been expecting his tattoo to flare at any moment, to have him claim Kelly as his own. As bittersweet as that would be, knowing the only way for her to become his was if Andrew was truly dead or lost to them forever at least. He had been hopeful, his feelings for her growing stronger by the day.

As he looked at her now, a brave smile tugging at her lips, he knew that she wanted to hear things he couldn't say to her, couldn't even think about. Not anymore. Not ever. And it was ripping them both apart.

“You don't need to say anything, Lance. I understand.” She rose and walked toward him, her smile losing any hint of happiness. “It was a nice fantasy for us for a while.” She hugged him tight for a moment, not letting him get his arms around her before she broke away. “You've got your mate, now I need mine back.”

Lance gulped back another lump of guilt. They'd been searching for Andrew as best they could with limited resources and no real way of finding what remained of Lazarus's pack. The Hunters had captured a couple wayward beasts, but even torture hadn't produced any reliable information. They'd come to a standstill in their search for Andrew, and that had almost been acceptable when the alternative seemed to be that Kelly might become his. But now, that was no longer an option and he owed her some measure of happiness, or at least the knowledge of what had become of her mate.

“Fine. We'll go.” Lance let out a frustrated sigh. “But remember what I said. Greer can't be trusted, not completely. She isn't what she seems. Not in the least.”

Kelly gave him a weak smile before turning away and heading for the door. “I'm going to get some sleep. It's my understanding that the Huntresses are entertaining the Hunters in the barracks. Maybe you should seek out yours as well.”

Lance flinched despite himself. “She's not what she seems either,” he murmured as he turned toward the wet bar, badly in need of something hard and strong.

He did go to the barracks though. Not because he wanted to find Ariana—or to assuage the nagging feeling of mistrust, jealousy, whatever, at the thought of her maybe entertaining herself with one of his Hunter brothers—but because the noise was rising throughout the house. A full-fledged house party happening down below that had him feeling like the responsible parent needing to dole out some discipline.

What he found actually shocked him, letting him know just how isolated and conservative he'd become since joining the Order as a young teen.

It wasn't just the unmated Hunters at the party—it was some of the scholars, young and old in attendance. And it wasn't just loud music and booze, it was a full on orgy of hedonism. There were bodies everywhere, pockets of one-on-one, Hunter, Huntress, Huntress and Huntress. Groups of tangled limbs, naked bodies, sweat, moans, screams of pleasure. The aroma of sex, the sweet smell of alcohol, the sound of ecstasy being reached, the euphoria. It made him hard, his cock aching, his heart racing, searching for the one that he really wanted to sink into, to lose himself in.

My Huntress.

And then she was there. Watching him from across the room. Fully clothed, seemingly unfazed by all the tangled bodies, the display of flesh, the satisfied groans.

Hands on his crotch, popping the button of his jeans, tugging on the zipper had him lazily looking down, somehow expecting to see Ariana there on her knees once again despite the fact that she was across the room. But it wasn't Ariana. It was some other Huntress, her long dark hair a mess, makeup streaked, lips open, ready to devour him. He swatted her hands away and snapped his gaze back up to see Ariana walk away.

Cut her off at the pass.
He pushed backward, away from the grabbing hands coming for him, the bodies threatening to pull him in. Unlatching himself from that possibility, he freed his legs, which had somehow become tangled up in the mess, and pushed through the doors to the hall.

Fresh air assaulted him, clearing his brain from all the sex. He gave his head a shake then took off down the side hall toward the second entrance of the barracks, knowing by the pulse of his tattoo that he'd find Ariana there. Or not quite there but down the stairs and outside, staring at the forest surrounding the property, arms crossed, breath frosting on the exhale.

“I didn't.” He wasn't sure why he was reassuring her, but he felt like she needed to know. “I wouldn't have touched any of them.”

“Why not?” She shrugged without looking at him. “I would have.”

It was a slap, or more like a kick in the balls once again, but before he could speak she'd turned on him, finger in his face, anger flaring.

“I told you I won't bond with you. I told you that! Why did you do it?” She rubbed her chest where he'd tried to mark her. “We were having a good time.”

“A good time?” He frowned, the ache in his gut sliding away, replaced by anger. “That's all this is to you? You find your Hunter, the one man who is supposed to stand by you, make you stronger, partner with you for eternity, bolster you, guide you, be your best friend and all you want is to have a good time?”

“I don't need any of those things. I don't need you,” she snarled. “No man will control me, Hunter or not. I don't need anyone.”

“It's the most sacred of bonds.”

“To you maybe. To the Order absolutely. But not to me.”

“You and your Amazons, you have a warped idea of what we're offering.” Lance pushed her finger aside, sick of it in his face. “We aren't after control. I've trained for you. I've prepared my body, my knowledge, honed my mending skill for you. I've devoted myself to the idea of you, my Huntress. There was nothing selfish in that. It was all for you.”

“You men are all the same,” she scoffed. “The protectors, the hero. What makes you think I need all that? Why are you so sure that I'm weak without you?”

“I didn't say you were weak,” he growled. “I've seen you use your magic. I know what you're capable of. But I can give you more. Make you stronger, better.”

She cocked her eyebrows, crossed her arms. “Make me better?” She shook her head. “Like I said, you men are all the same. I'm a wolf slayer. A favorite to my queen. A skilled mender. Once day soon I'll be a commander, a leader of a team. And all this without even knowing you existed.”

Lance wanted to grab her, shake sense into her, kiss her, wrap her in his arms, make love to her on the grass under the light of the stars and moon. To give her everything he had, everything he'd been waiting to give to his one true soul mate. She didn't need him, fine, but he sure as hell needed her.

“I would be good to you. I would take care of you.” Lance hated that he sounded so weak, begging for his Huntress to feel something for him.

She flinched. “I don't need anyone to take care of me. Ever.” Took a step back. “The only thing I've ever gotten from men has been pain.”

Lance didn't like the sound of that. It made him growl. It made him want to go out there and find whoever had hurt her, rip his throat out and grind his skull to pulp.

“I'm not seeking your pity. I'm stating a fact so that you'll understand. I don't trust men. Just because you're marked as a Hunter doesn't mean you're any different.”

“But I
am
different. I'm your Hunter and you are my Huntress. Soul mates, partners, bonded. That's the way it has always been.” He reached out to her. “I'd never do anything to hurt you.”

She stepped back from his hand, pain flashing across her face before she turned from him. “I've heard that before,” she murmured as she walked away from him, once again not looking back.