Wicked Deeds on a Winter’s Night (Immortals After Dark #4)(52)
Author: Kresley Cole

In the witch’s current mood, she seemed to attract them all.

– Wary. Her power is unstable. –

He got chills, shivering even as he sweated after his run, and still part of him wanted to charge over there and comfort her.

He could feel her sadness and her disappointment – in him. His own anger had turned to a weary realization…

If he wanted her, he would have to change.

Weeks ago, he’d been disgusted to see that Lachlain had allowed his vampire mate to drink from him. Vampires had tortured Lachlain in unimaginable ways and had decimated his family. In turn, he’d killed thousands of their kind.

A vampire’s bite was a mark of weakness, of abject shame among the Lykae; Lachlain wore Emma’s bite like a badge. He had changed for her, had somehow overcome a millennium-long hatred.

Now Bowe understood why Lachlain had been moved to do so. But could Bowe accept the haunting female before him? Change an entrenched mind-set for her?

Bowe himself had advised Lachlain not to try to force Emma to their ways, but that hadn’t meant that Bowe was saying to embrace her ways either.

He asked Mariketa, "Did you find out what happened to the others?"

Without facing him, she said, "They’re safe."

"Are they coming?"

She shrugged. "I don’t know – just learned that they’re not in immediate danger."

When he remained silent, she murmured, "If you think I don’t know what I look like, I do. No butterflies, fauns, and songbirds for me." She finally faced him. "It must be hard for you, going from a real fairy princess to the wicked witch who kills for money." She frowned to herself. "I think I’m supposed to be the villain in this piece."

"Maybe that’s why we would fit so well." How in the hell could he expect her to tolerate the beast within him when he couldn’t accept the power intrinsic in her? "If you’re the villain, doona forget that I’m the monster."

Mari planted her hands on her knees as she sucked in air, her braids swinging forward with each inhalation. "You’re doing this… to retaliate for last night." That morning, he’d pushed her for what had to be leagues, using his machete and his claws to thrash through the jungle at a breakneck pace. "Fine. Take the patch… knock me up with a litter… but just let me stop!"

"No’ to retaliate." His mood, not exactly jubilant after having slept in the rain last night, had grown steadily worse as the day progressed.

"Then why are you pushing so hard?"

"I’d hoped Rydstrom and the others would have caught up with us by now."

She rolled her eyes. "A clue? You slow down when you want people to catch up."

"Their pace would be twice as fast as ours. They should’ve been able to rejoin us." He handed her the canteen. "Listen, Mariketa, I want you to know that I’m sorry for last night. Though I’ve long wanted bairns, I’d give up the chance forever if the alternative was your suffering. I doona know how to convince you of this, but it’s true."

He appeared so earnest, and yet she wasn’t sold. "I don’t know how you can convince me either."

"Here." He held out his hand. "I’ll carry you on my back, but we have to move. There might be a highway in reach. You could hitch a ride into Belize and get to the coast, maybe to an airport."

"Why am I the only one hitching a ride?" When he ran his fingers through his hair, she said, "What? Tell me."

"The moon is full this eve."

"Oh." Of course she’d noticed, but she hadn’t thought the ramifications could be this dire until she’d seen his expression just now. Oh, hell.

"I’ve been debating the best way to get you out of my reach. If I run from you, I leave you vulnerable. If I stay with you… " He trailed off.

"You look like the apocalypse has arrived. Is it really so dangerous?"

Instead of reassuring her, he nodded. "Aye. I lose control over myself, and the difference between us in strength is just too vast. If given free leave to take you, I’d rend you in two."

She swallowed. "What exactly do you turn into, MacRieve? Describe it to me."

He answered, "The Lykae call it saorachadh ainmhidh bho a cliabhan – letting the beast out of its cage. My face will change, becoming a cross between lupine and human. My body grows larger, taller. My strength increases exponentially."

"I’ve seen the fangs and claws."

"Sharper and longer. And flickering over me will be an image of the beast inside me. It is… harrowing to those not of my kind."

"What would you do to me?"

He looked away. "I’d take you in the dirt like an animal. I’d mark your body with my fangs, and even after the bite healed, Lykae could still see it forever and know you’d been claimed." He rubbed his hand over his mouth, as if imagining it even then. "What does your gut feeling tell you to do with me?" he asked, facing her again. "Take away everything else – what do you sense?"

She thought for a moment, trying to digest what he’d just told her. She’d known Lykae bit and scratched each other during sex. But she’d never imagined that Bowen would want to sink his fangs in her skin, marking her forever – or that he’d lose control over himself so totally. "Honestly, I have no idea. But I could ask the mirror what to do."

He clenched his jaw, clearly struggling with the idea. "What can it tell you?" he finally said.

"I usually only get cursory answers. Classic oracular."

He hesitated for long moments, the conflict within him clear on his face. "Ask it, then. Would it be more dangerous to escape me – or to remain within my reach?"

38

Mari was out of breath, griping to herself, and pissed that because Bowen was going to get moon-ass-crazy, she had to do the jungle by herself, basically running for her life and all that.

And he was sprinting in the opposite direction. But if she didn’t find civilization and some manner of vehicle for speedy travel, it wouldn’t matter. He’d told her he could cover hundreds upon hundreds of miles to get to her on a night like this.

At a small stream, she knelt down to catch her breath and splash her face with water, careful not to drink any of it. As she unwound her canteen to knead her neck, she thought that if she could just get to a town, she could escape him and enjoy a hot shower for the first time in a month. Breakfast in the morning would be hot and waffly.

She froze when she thought she heard movement in a nearby copse of trees, then scanned the area. Probably just an animal. They tended to be in jungles. She turned back to the stream –

"Put your hands on your head."