Winter's Kiss (29 page)

She stood frozen to the spot, her eyes wide and skin pale as she stared at Willem.

With a roar, Winter leapt at Willem, tackling him to the ground. He rolled with him, claws scratching and teeth gnashing as they fought for dominance. Red searing pain tore through him with each swipe of Willem’s claws against his flesh. He retaliated, his claws cleaving Willem’s flesh, leaving deep gouges in his face and neck. The scent of blood was overpowering. His lust for violence, need for revenge and desire to protect Nika compounded into one terrible urge to kill that stole what little control he’d had.

Landing on top of Willem, Winter pinned him to the ground. Willem lashed out at him with both hands, his sword lost in the fray along with Winter’s. Winter grabbed Willem’s wrists and bit one while slashing the other with his claws. He sucked hard on Willem’s blood to weaken him, fighting him as he struggled beneath him, attempting to kick and push him off.

Biting deeper, Winter growled and sucked harder, unable to resist the temptation to drain Willem dry. He fought against that instinct and released his wrist, not wanting him to suffer such an easy and relatively painless death.

He wanted him to pay in blood and blinding pain for what he had done.

Willem lay beneath him, breathing erratic and slow. Winter sat back, still astride him, and stared down at his ashen face. Flexing his fingers, he considered how to kill him. Willem had taken Nika from him. He had taken his heart.

Winter grinned to reveal bloodied teeth.

In return, he would take Willem’s heart.

With a loud roar, he grabbed one of his throwing knives from the holster at his back and stabbed Willem in the chest. He dragged the blade down, using all his strength to cut through the bone. Willem screamed in agony. The scent of his fear and the smell of death were intoxicating. The violence in Winter cried out for him to finish it, to take his heart and sate his thirst for vengeance.

He tossed the knife away and punched through Willem’s chest. His still-beating heart was warm in Winter’s hand as he grasped it and he sneered as he ripped it out of his chest. Willem fell silent in an instant.

Winter stared at the heart in his hand. Blood covered him from fingertip to almost his elbow, streaming down in rivulets and dripping to the ground.

In the haze of victory, he felt no pain or fear. He felt nothing but absolute calm and a sense of closure.

The world slowly came back. The sound of two hearts beating, one so fast it called to his instincts and told him to kill. The smell of the night air tainted with blood and death. The sight of the dark woods and of Nika staring at him with fearful eyes. The feel of burning fire in his side and across his face and arms.

The frozen woods were silent once again.

He dropped the heart to the ground, stood slowly, and turned to face Nika.

Fear still reigned within her.

Did she fear him now?

“I wanted you to stay away,” he said and stooped to pick up his sword.

He slid it back into its sheath, his eyes never leaving hers.

“I couldn’t,” she said and she seemed a little calmer. Her heart began to slow to an almost normal pace. She stepped out from behind the horse and took a hesitant step towards him. “I used the moves you taught me on the guards.”

He shook his head, disappointed that she had endangered herself but pleased that she had been able to fight, even if it was to escape people who he had asked to protect her.

Wiping his hands on his trousers, he looked around the clearing at the dead men and then back at her. He wiped his mouth and chin on his arm, aware that his appearance was frightening Nika, and then held his hand out to her. She looked at him, her
arms
still wrapped around herself.

“Come, I will take you back to the castle… and then I must return to my lord.” He wasn’t surprised to see her frown when he had finished speaking.

Her hands tightened against her arms. “Willem is dead. No one but your lord knows of us. We can be together.”

“It isn’t that simple!” he snapped and regretted it when her eyes filled with tears. He longed to ask her why she couldn’t have just stayed back at the castle and let him leave. It had been hard enough parting from her when she had been asleep. It would be almost impossible now. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her over to the horse. “I must return, Nika. I wish you would understand that.”

He took hold of her waist and lifted her onto the horse before mounting it himself and settling behind her. Reaching around her, he grabbed the reins and turned the horse about, heading back towards the castle.

The silence was oppressive.

He closed his eyes when he felt Nika shudder and then heard her sob. His side ached but the pain in his heart eclipsed it. Her crying tore at him, making him want to stay if only to soothe her and take away her pain. The feel of her close to him, her warmth and her scent, chased away all reason and left him unsure what to do. It would be so easy to surrender to her like he wanted to, but he just couldn’t.

He had to leave. He had to ensure that no one knew of his time with Nika, or at least no one who would inform the Law Keepers. He couldn’t trust that with Willem dead, they were free. He couldn’t risk Nika’s life. He had to protect her. She had been through enough for a lifetime in these past few days.

The castle appeared in view and he continued towards it, his heart growing heavier with each hoof beat that brought him closer to it and closer to leaving Nika for a second time.

When he reached it, he set Nika down, not trusting himself enough to dismount. If he did, he would probably stay.

“Won’t you at least let me tend to your wounds?” she said, holding herself and looking up at him with furrowed eyebrows and solemn eyes.

He shook his head. “I must return to my family.”

She nodded, as though she had expected that answer, and then sighed. He stared into her beautiful green eyes, waiting for her to speak, knowing that she wouldn’t let him go so easily. He waited for another reason too. He couldn’t bring himself to leave her yet. He needed a few moments more with her.

The light night breeze tousled the wavy strands of her blonde hair, causing them to caress her tear-stained cheeks. Her eyes grew wider and her rosy lips parted. She was beautiful. His angel. She moved closer to the horse and touched his leg. Swallowing hard, he placed his hand over hers and held it, savouring the touch in case it was their last.

“Will you ever come back to me?” Her voice trembled with the tears he could see forming in her eyes.

Those tears didn’t mask the love in them and the hope.

He nodded, wished that he could speak and tell her that he would return to her one day, but his throat felt too tight to speak.

She managed a smile and pulled on his hand, forcing him to lean over. The wound in his side burned fiercely but he lowered himself anyway, intent on taking this last moment with her even if it killed him. He closed his eyes when her lips met his in a light kiss that cleaved his heart in two and forever marked her name on it.

“So you’ll remember me,” she whispered against his lips and then released his hand. He straightened up and looked down at her, right into her green eyes that were bright with her tears and affection. “I’ll be waiting, for eternity if that’s what it takes.”

He turned the horse away and closed his eyes as every fibre of his being begged him to go back to her.

“I love you, Winter,” she whispered. “I’ll never love another.”

Unable to bear it anymore, he geed on Demeter and rode into the woods. Tears stung his eyes and he cursed himself for doing this. It broke his heart to leave her there but he didn’t have a choice. It had to be this way.

Even if it took forever to find a way, he silently swore that he would return one day.

Nika leaned her elbows on the warm stone wall that surrounded the balcony and stared out into the night. The breeze held the scent of summer, of pine trees and meadow flowers, and the lingering heat of day. Her gaze tracked the sickle moon as it rose into the inky sky. The stars were pale against their backdrop and struggled to sparkle. She heaved a sigh, content to wait for midnight to come and true night to reign so she could see the heavens in all their glory.

Each night since Winter had left her she had come to this place to watch the world, to wait for his return. Each morning she had written everything down in her diary so she would remember all the things that she wanted to tell him, the experiences that she longed to share with him, and her unwavering feelings.

Her heart had grown heavier each day that she went to her bed alone, only to sleep so she could rise again the next night and watch for him. It had only been two months, but it felt like eternity.

Since his departure, the full moon had risen twice and twice she had changed. Dmitri, the lord of the werewolves, had helped her through her first time. He had mentioned that he had been fulfilling a request and her heart had ached to realise that Winter had asked him to personally look after her. Her first time hadn’t been nearly as frightening or painful as she had expected. Under Dmitri’s expert guidance, she had managed to relax enough to allow the change to progress naturally and although it had hurt and it had scared her, it had been more exhilarating than anything else.

She had run through the woods, just as she had told Winter she would.

She had been free.

The wind had rushed against her face and through her hair. The world had been crisp and sharp, her vision amazing even in the low light. Her hearing and sense of smell had been off the scale. She had spent hours exploring the woods and growing used to moving as a wolf. It had been incredible.

She had only wished that Winter could have been there to run with her, to share her joy and excitement. It had been the first time since becoming a werewolf that she had been
glad
to become one. She had written about it in her diary in very intricate detail. Every scent she had smelt and sound she had heard, everything that she had seen through new eyes. She was sure that he would want to hear that she had done well, and that she was strong now, no longer the weak and frightened girl that he had protected all those weeks ago.

The moon had risen a little higher while she had been lost in her thoughts. The sky had grown a little darker. Voices rose up from the gardens far below her and she watched a group of people crossing it. It was the guards. Every night she watched them change, one shift ending as another began. They always stopped to talk on the grass. Sometimes she even listened to what they spoke of.

She focussed on them so intently that she didn’t hear the curtains shifting or the soft footsteps on the flagstones.

“The night is beautiful,” a woman said in Russian and Nika turned to look at her. She straightened immediately when she saw it was Mia, the vampire mated of sorts to her lord, Dmitri. Sleek black hair framed Mia’s pale face. Her delicate skin still bore the marks of the battle she had returned from a month ago. A black silk corseted dress was tight against her slender frame, emphasising her graceful figure. Nika envied her a little. She was as beautiful as the night. Curtseying, Nika bowed her head and stared at the floor. Mia’s skirt appeared in view. “There is no need for such formality. It is so peaceful here. I can see why you prefer this place.”

Nika straightened and looked at Mia. She wanted to say that her being here wasn’t because she found this place more peaceful than others. She came here because she had spent time with
Winter
here and the memories of that time were a warm comforting blanket that made it easier to keep going
and
keep waiting.

“The wait makes it sweeter,” Mia said in a perfect voice, as elegant as her appearance.

Nika started and turned away, staring at the men in the garden below. Her cheeks blazed. Mia had a gift for regressing minds, but as far as Nika knew, she couldn’t read them. Were her thoughts and reason for being here so clear that they could be read just by looking at her?

“It can even sweeten forbidden fruit.” Mia’s tone held a hint of a smile and Nika was surprised when she looked at her and saw that she was actually smiling. It wasn’t like Mia to be so cordial to her or any of the lower ranking werewolves in the castle.

It gave Nika the impression that Mia liked her.

Perhaps it was because they both held forbidden love in their hearts and they both believed that there was nothing
wrong
with a
mixed
species relationship.

Perhaps Mia had finally heard from the others the story behind why she had come here and of Winter.

Looking away, Nika stared intently into the woods, watching.

“We are expecting company tonight. Would you assist me?” Mia said and again Nika had to look at her in an attempt to understand the sudden change in her attitude. “You have been a good help to me since my return and your desire to rise within the ranks has not gone unnoticed. I would like you to assist me as my only aide.”

An aide? Nika didn’t know what to say. Dmitri had aides, but he was the only one to have them. Mia had apparently shunned the need for a close personal assistant out of a desire to keep peace within the werewolves and to stop them from feeling uncomfortable about her. Mia hadn’t wanted them to resent her. She hadn’t wanted them to feel forced to work with a creature they loathed.