Dark Wolf

7

Skyler had done everything she could to prepare for the night, other than the most important one—their fall back plan. Josef was definitely a strategist. He believed in backup plans. His backup plans had backup plans. She and Paul liked to tease him about it, but it was the meticulous care he paid to detail that always made everything work—like the swelling and bruising on her ankle. A Lycan such as Zev would never have bought her story if she hadn’t been truly injured.

“It’s almost time, Sky,” Josef pointed out. “It’s now or never. Can you do it? We need a safe place to retreat to, one the Lycans can’t enter. This is their territory. They know every cave, every rock. I can go to ground, so could Dimitri, but you and Paul can’t, so in the event of an emergency, we have to have a safety zone.”

“I know.” Of course she knew. They’d discussed it a million times. She was 75 percent certain she could do it. Okay, maybe it was more like 50 percent now that she actually had to produce something.

“If we’re caught and given the opportunity to run, some—or all—could be wounded. We won’t be able to outrun a pack, not with the shape Dimitri is in.”

Skyler glared at him. “You’re not making this any easier. Just give me a minute.”

She’d thought about this moment a long time. She had to completely embrace who and what she was. She was Dragonseeker. Her birth father was from a powerful Carpathian lineage, one with great honor. Not a single Dragonseeker had ever turned vampire. Her father had been tortured for centuries, and still he refused to give in to the darkness that would have freed him from Xavier’s terrible prison. That blood ran in her veins.

Her birth father was also mage, grandson to the most powerful mage the world had ever known. She was Xavier’s great-granddaughter. That blood also ran in her veins. The more she’d used her abilities, the stronger they had become. That power was there, running beneath the surface, calling to her. It didn’t have to be evil. Evil was a choice—like the giving up of one’s soul. She could use her gifts for good as they were meant to be.

Her birth mother had been a very powerful psychic. Her ability to cross such long distances telepathically had come not from Dragonseeker or mage, but from her human mother. More, her mother had been the one to have a connection with Mother Earth. She could grow any plant, and sometimes, plants responded just to the sound of her voice.

Skyler knew her strongest connection was with Mother Earth both from Dragonseeker blood and her human mother. She would need everything she was in order to create a safety zone where no Lycan could cross—unless, like Dimitri, he had Carpathian blood as well.

She had chosen her spot well. Just a few miles from where they set up camp was a clearing. They could see anything coming at them from any direction. The soil was rich so Dimitri and Josef could go to ground and no harm could come to them. Paul and she would be exposed to the sight of the Lycans, but the wolves wouldn’t be able to get to them. If they reached that safety zone—and it worked—they could simply wait the arrival of her father and uncle.

She winced, thinking about facing her father. He would be very angry, which she could take, but he’d also be hurt and that was far worse.

“I picked up the exact location from the tracking bug you dropped in the Lycan’s pocket,” Josef said. “We’re good to go. Get our fail-safe up and running and I can take you close to the camp. Paul and I will be waiting to cover your retreat.”

Fortunately, her chosen clearing brought them a few miles closer to Dimitri. Paul and Josef walked with her to the spot, neither trying to hurry her, both sensing this was a difficult task. Each part of that shield, above them, below them, surrounding them, had to be sealed.

She stood in the middle of the clearing for a moment, feeling the welcoming earth beneath her feet. She was surrounded on four sides by the cool of the forest. Slowly, she began to walk clockwise. As she moved, she sent out a brilliant stream of light ahead of her, to clear and cleanse the clearing.

I call upon you, powers of air, bring forth your breath to guard this circle.

I call upon you, powers of fire, witness this rite, bring forth your flame.

I call upon you, powers of water, hold and align your healing waters.

I call upon you, powers of earth, sustain me by holding me close.

Air that is my breath,

Fire that is my heart’s blood,

Water that is the blood of my veins,

Earth that is my mother,

I call to thee,

I summon thee,

See my need, hear my voice, answer my call,

Guide me, protect me, and avail me of your powers.

Skyler took out a small dagger, one of her very few treasured possessions. It had been passed down through generations from mother to daughter. The dagger was intricately carved, etched with the tree of life on its hilt and with runic symbols running down its blade. Holding her hand sideways, she made a quick cut across her palm so that the blood dripped down onto the earth where she stood.

I call to my birthright

I am Dragonseeker,

Born of dragons,

Dracaena, Draco—dragon’s blood.

I am Mage,

Born of those who wield power—magic makers,

Time benders,

Portal makers.

I summon thee, earth,

Open your arms, create a space that is safe, protected.

I call on light to surround,

Let your bright protective light circle and protect.

I command thee, fire, wrap this place like a cocoon that cannot be penetrated.

Mother, allow this space only to us,

Allowing no other entry,

Water, supply us with your life-giving sustenance.

As above, so below,

So mote it be.

The ground below her rippled in response to her command. The air shimmered with fire, and then settled into a nearly transparent wall barely seen. Letting out her breath slowly, Skyler looked at Josef. “It’s done.”

Josef looked at her with awe. “I never actually thought you could do it.”

“You didn’t? Why did you agree to all of this if you didn’t think we’d have a fail-safe?” She punched his arm. “I thought I could do it because you thought I could.”

Paul laughed. “You ought to know Josef by now.” He put his arm around Skyler’s shoulders. “You’re awesome, you know that? I think you could do anything.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said. “I know I can get those hooks out of Dimitri’s body, but the chain has burned so deeply into his body that I’m not certain . . .”

“Don’t start doubting yourself at this late stage of the game,” Josef cautioned. “Now is when you need confidence. You just did what no one believed possible. Paul is right, you can do anything, including getting the chain off Dimitri. Once that’s done, I don’t care how bad a shape he’s in, he’ll get you out of there.”

“Have you considered that he won’t look the same?” Paul touched the small crescent-shaped scar on her temple. “He’ll have scars.”

“Carpathians don’t scar,” Josef said.

Paul shook his head. “That’s not true. I’ve seen plenty of them with scars. If the wound could be fatal and it’s there too long without care, they’ll scar.”

“Do you really think that would matter to me?” Skyler asked in a low tone. “I couldn’t care less what Dimitri looks like to other people. He’s beautiful to me. He always will be.”

Paul smiled down at her. “I knew you’d say that. The cool thing, Sky, is you mean it.”

“I’ll take Paul first, and get him in position to protect your retreat,” Josef said. “Will you be all right here by yourself until I come back for you?”

“Of course, but, Josef, the Lycans can sense your energy. Don’t get too close to that camp, or any of the guards.”

“I’ll be careful,” he promised.

Paul hugged her hard. “Good journey, little sister.”

“Good journey, my brother,” she murmured, holding him close for a moment. She closed her eyes briefly as she returned his hug. He had come there for her, and he very well could get killed if the Lycans discovered their prisoner gone before she managed to get them all to safety.

Reluctantly she dropped her arms, releasing him. Paul raised her chin, looking into her eyes. “Always remember I wanted to come. I chose to help my friends. Dimitri is a good man and I consider him family, just as you are to me. With or without you, I would have chosen to rescue him, or at least try.”

She felt the burn of tears, but she managed a smile, nodding her head. Intellectually, she knew Paul spoke the truth, but still, she felt responsible. If anything happened to him she would always carry that with her. She watched them go, Josef taking to the air with Paul, before she sat down right there in the vegetation, ignoring the drone of insects.

We’re ready, Dimitri. I will be coming for you. Can you look around? Can you see a likely route to get in and out without detection?

She didn’t want him balking at the last moment. This would be hardest on him. A Carpathian male did not ever want to feel helpless, especially when his lifemate was in danger. She knew he would want to fight his restraints, and now, more than ever, he had to be still and conserve his energy.

There is no one around me at the moment, but usually they stay a few meters away, hidden in the trees, watching me. I believe I am the entertainment for the bored. From my vantage point I can’t see much. Without these chains, I could . . . He broke off in frustration.

She sent him instant warmth, surrounded him with her confidence and her love. We have a great ally in Mother Earth. She’ll come to our aid when we have need, she promised. Give me a minute.

She plunged her hands deep into the soil and instantly felt the connection with earth itself. Her heart found that steady deep boom that came from below. Sounds of water, the wind, the sap ebbing and flowing in the trees all came to her as if they were part of her very life force.

I call upon thee, Mother,

Hear my voice.

Feel my need,

Send me the creatures that dwell within your darkness,

Cloak our energies so we are not seen, heard or felt.

The flow of information was strong, as if that connection with the earth was growing with each touch. Even the insects spoke to her. She was no longer bothered by them, but understood exactly why they were needed and what part in the ecological system they played.

Earth Mother,

I give thanks to you and your minions.

May there always be peace and harmony between us,

I release you now, go in peace.

She was grateful for the guidance and murmured her thanks.

Dimitri, I am certain of the way. Just hold on a little longer. As soon as I get the chains off, I’ll give you blood. Then it will be up to both of us to run like hell. She tried to push a little amusement into her voice, feeling his tension.

Dimitri was a man who rarely was tense. In the worst situations he was always calm and cool, but knowing she was putting herself in danger for him bothered him on an entirely new level. He probably had never known what the word tense actually meant until he found her.

She had to struggle to understand his nature. She saw his needs in his mind, but she hadn’t lived for centuries. She didn’t have his experiences. She wasn’t Carpathian and didn’t fully understand the driving need of the male to protect his lifemate.

I cannot aid you until these chains have been removed, he reiterated. I am weak, starved. I won’t be able to move fast.

Dimitri tried to make her understand his condition. He’d been mortally wounded numerous times over the centuries, but he’d never felt so helpless. The silver chains prevented the most basic of Carpathian abilities. He couldn’t reach out to his brother—something that he’d been doing all of his life. His brother couldn’t reach him. Josef was close, and he’d tried to touch him on the common Carpathian path, but that was closed to him—because of the terrible chains wrapped from his forehead to his ankles.

The burning in his skin was endless, but now his fear for Skyler’s safety even overrode that horrendous agony. He could only hang helplessly, terrified for her, waiting for the night’s work to play out.

We have to do this as silently and as stealthily as possible, Skyler reminded him. Lycans are sensitive to all energy used. We don’t want them to feel us.

Dimitri suppressed a groan of frustration. I am Sange rau. They cannot feel me, which is why they hate me. They fear me.

You are a Guardian of all, Dimitri, not the dreaded Sange rau. You will have to think of yourself as a Guardian always.

Clearly, Skyler didn’t understand his desire, his need to be Sange rau, even if just for a moment, to rip out the throats of his tormenters, the ones who came around when Zev wasn’t near. They kicked him, spit on him, and some even dared to get close enough to use their fists on him. They deliberately shook and jarred his body in the hopes that the hooks would tear at his flesh and the silver race for his heart.

Their hatred was tangible. Facing them, being in their midst, he knew Mikhail Dubrinsky, the prince of his people, could never change the minds of such fanatics. Their hatred ran deep, taught to them by generations of hatred. He had done nothing to them. In fact, he had come to the aid of their kind. Gunnolf and Convel, the two he had saved, were the worst of his tormenters and seemed to take it personally that he hadn’t died quickly.

Dimitri had never known such a thing as hatred. He hunted the vampire, but he was completely emotionless when he did so. It was a matter of honor, of duty, never personal. A vampire was evil and he murdered innocent men, women and children. He had to be brought to justice. There was no joy in the taking of a life, any life. This experience taught him what hatred was. Had it not been for Zev’s compassion, he might have decided the Lycan species was not worth saving and he would have been just as bad as they were.

Josef is back. He’ll bring me close to the camp and leave me to make my way. I have a path to take and I can sense the presence of the Lycans, Skyler informed him. And, my beloved, lest you think you really would form these narrow opinions, I can assure you, that is your pain and your fear for me talking to you, the lack of sustenance and your weakness. I see into your mind and there are no such true feelings. You can’t hold evil in your heart or mind, Dimitri, that is not who you are.

Dimitri let out his breath. Skyler always brought comfort. She was a young woman, yet her soul was old, and matched his perfectly. She could play and tease, but there was always that distance in her, that part of her that knew monsters lived in the world. Human monsters, vampires and wolves. She already had experiences no young girl should ever have had and now she was facing brutal wolves—the ones declared to be good.

The Lycans surrounding him were no rogues. They didn’t hunt and kill humans for food. They lived among them. They even protected them. Yet . . . None of it made sense. Dimitri could tell it didn’t make sense to Zev either.

Be safe, sívamet. Without you . . . Would he stay the man she believed him to be? The one she saw and had such faith in?

If they killed her, would he become the very thing they detested to give himself a chance to kill them all? Or would he follow her to the next life and go to her clean and with honor? He wished he knew the answer. He was weary beyond endurance. Sometimes, his mind played tricks on him. He knew he was close to the end. If she didn’t succeed, he honestly didn’t know how much longer he could hold on without going mad.

Skyler felt Dimitri’s despair. She had known all along that the brutal torture had sapped his strength. With his lack of sustenance for over two weeks and no rejuvenating sleep, it was only Dimitri’s will of iron keeping him going.

The night breeze felt good on her face. Her nerves had been all over the place, but once Josef had returned for her and she was on her way, all she could think about was reaching Dimitri, freeing him, and holding him close to her. Nerves were gone. They would live or die this night—but they would do it together. If they didn’t make it, Dimitri would know she loved him enough to risk everything for him, and she would know she’d done her absolute best. She couldn’t ask for anything more.

Josef put her down in the middle of a thick stand of trees, exactly where she directed him. He kept his arms around her, holding her tight against his body, saying without words how much she meant to him, the family he didn’t really have. She hugged him just as hard, conveying her love. Neither risked telepathic or verbal communication. She didn’t feel any Lycan close, but all the same, they preferred their silent exchange. Josef dropped a kiss on the top of her head and left her abruptly.

Skyler let her breath out. She was on her own now. Dimitri’s escape depended solely on her. This was her time. When a woman tied herself to a man like Dimitri, she knew he would be a dominant, no matter how gently or tenderly he treated you. She might never be able to give of herself the way she could in this moment. She was his equal here. She could fight with him. She could save him.

She let her senses stretch out, slowly, a quiet stealth, reaching into the night, searching for the markers that were Lycan. She knew their origins. She knew their birthplace. Like Mother Earth she could discern their heartbeats and their primal needs. She knew how the pack thought and worked.

Skyler lifted her hand, palm facing down, and moved it slowly just above the ground. Like a magnet, the pull went to her right. She put her booted foot on the untraveled grass. At once she felt the grasses urging her to move forward. She jogged, the soil cushioning her footfalls, preventing sound from traveling through the night.

She knew the Lycans so well now. Their sense of hearing and their sense of smell were so acute that it was important to remain absolutely silent. As she jogged, she used a small spell to mask the sound of the air moving in and out of her lungs.

That which is my breath

Now may not be heard.

That which is my body,

Now must be silent.

She trusted Mother Earth to keep her footsteps silent. The Lycans actually could feel the footsteps of those they hunted through the vibrations. They had so many gifts, but they had a few weaknesses, just like every species, and she intended to exploit each one.

The pack hunted together and few were comfortable without their pack-mates. Even among the elite hunters, those who chased down rogue packs, the members rarely were without their companions. Only a few, like Zev, were able to rise above that driving force to be safe and comfortable within their group.

Lycan packs had a tendency to position their guards in a way that best protected the center of their group, mainly to protect their children. Like the Carpathians, children were a rarity, and guarded closely. Although there were no women or children in this camp, the formation had worked for centuries and had become instinctive. She knew the approximate location of every guard surrounding the encampment. In this case, with no children, Dimitri had been placed in the center of the camp. The Lycans had set up around him and the guards were on those outer boundaries.

She knew how many meters out each guard would go before they considered it too far. The very footprints of the Lycans were etched into the land and the land shared information with Skyler. She jogged, careful to keep her clothes from brushing branches, moving toward Dimitri. She could feel him now, and her heart sang. Adrenaline flooded her body and she wanted to weep with joy. This had been a long, arduous journey. She’d been so afraid for him. Now, she was close to freeing him.

As she approached the quadrant of the first guard, she slowed her pace. The ears and nose of a Lycan were so much better than her own. She knew if a vampire was near—her Dragonseeker blood assured that—but wolves were different. Now it was Mother Earth she relied on, and the hints were subtle.

She felt the slight check of the ground beneath her feet, almost as if the surface switched from a carpet of soft grass to sand. She halted immediately and drew in long, slow breaths. She’d tied her hair back and slipped the braid inside the dark, mottled clothing Josef had provided for her. The weapons she’d requested were in the pockets of her cargo pants. She had come prepared to fight Lycans and she knew every weapon she would need. She also had brought along the tools necessary to protect the Lycan in Dimitri.

The back of her neck tingled, another subtle alarm. She sank down behind a shrub and went very still. The guard patrolled but clearly he didn’t really think he was going to find anything. He relied exclusively on his sense of smell and his hearing. They were expecting Carpathians to attempt to rescue Dimitri and they believed they would feel aggressive energy coming at them before the Carpathians arrived.

She circled around in the opposite direction of the guard’s movements in order to get in front of him. Behind her trotted a curious little fox. This time he followed exactly in Skyler’s footsteps, marking his territory quite thoroughly, masking any scent she might have left behind. She noticed the moment the sandy soil turned back to a welcoming grass carpet and she picked up her pace again. The next circle would be closer, but she was inside.

She felt a burst of triumph and had to tamp down the desire to share her success with Dimitri. So far the Lycans hadn’t detected their strange brand of telepathy or become suspicious, but after meeting Zev, Skyler didn’t want to take any chances. She hurried along the faint trail, winding in and out of the trees. She walked fast, resisting the urge to jog. The inside guards were always stationed in a vee formation from the outside guards, to better keep out the enemy.

The path veered to her left. She slowed down even more, moving cautiously along the cushion of grass, dark now in the thick of the trees. Her feet felt the way more than her eyes saw, but still she trusted the way Mother Earth had provided.

A twig snapped off to her right and she held her breath. The guard had changed direction and was moving toward her, not away. The little fox trotted off in his direction. She heard the little creature bark a warning and the Lycan gave an explosive burst of laughter. Almost immediately the guard turned back, certain he had come close to a fox den and the male had given him notification that he’d better go away.

Lycans were essentially wolves, children of the forest, and they guarded the wildlife as carefully as Dimitri always had. She found it ironic that he had cared for wolves and given them sanctuary for most of his life, and yet the Lycans had turned on him.

She inched past the second guard’s quadrant and now she was deep in the inner circle. This was where the main pack would be scattered, camping, perhaps using the few cabins, but any could be out for a walk.

She felt the pull of her lifemate now. Strong. So strong. His agony burst through her like an inferno out of control. She crouched low and fought down the need to vomit. She hadn’t counted on feeling his pain just because they were in close proximity. She should have thought of that possibility. There was no way she could get closer without some sort of protection. Again, she called on her mage blood to aid her.

Mother of my blood,

I call upon you,

Surround me, cloak me,

Abolish this pain,

So that I may continue.

Drawing several deep breaths, Skyler continued to follow the path. Twice, it veered away from where the pull to Dimitri was the strongest, but she trusted the earth to guide her and she kept to the path. Both times, she caught a glimpse of a small cabin sheltered beneath trees.

Then she saw him. She hadn’t prepared for that sight either. Nothing could have prepared her. He was still a distance from her, hanging by hooks and nothing else from a thick tree branch. The sight was sickening. His body was blackened, burned from the silver chain that literally ate into his flesh. His neck had at least three loops around it, his forehead one. But his body was chained all the way down so that he appeared to wear a robe of silver.

His face was so ravaged with pain, she wanted to cry. There were dark circles under his eyes. His skin was pulled tight around his skull, his cheeks hollow. Clearly they had been afraid to unwrap the chain long enough to cut away his clothing, so they’d just slipped a knife inside and along each winding wrap slashed at the material in an effort to keep the silver in contact with his skin. They hadn’t cared whether or not the blade of the silver knife had cut open his flesh. She could see where he had bled in hundreds of places onto the chain.

She wanted to drop to her knees, cover her face and sob. How could one living being do such a thing to another? How much would you have to hate? Shaken, she pressed her hand to her mouth and forced herself to study him.

She could see where the hooks tore into his body and held him prisoner. Twelve of them, six down each side. She knew each location because blood welled from beneath those chains and smeared over them. Tiny beads of blood dotted his forehead and ran down his face. He stayed as still as possible, but the pain had to be excruciating, even without the silver traveling through his body toward his heart.

My love. Her voice wobbled. She choked on the lump in her throat. She knew it was bad, yet she hadn’t imagined—this.

He didn’t move or give away that she was so close. He kept his eyes closed. His head down. But she felt his love.

I shouldn’t have waited. The moment I heard, I should have set out after you.

You are here now. Can you feel them watching me? He meant it as a warning. There is someone always watching.

I feel them. I have come prepared for that. In all our conversations over these last years, I did pick up a few things from you. And Josef is a mini-general. He is very good at planning a battle, even one such as this, where we hope to escape unnoticed.

He didn’t ask her how. He knew she had a plan and he gave her the trust she deserved. She’d gotten to him against impossible odds.

She stayed in the shadow of the brush, a few meters from Dimitri. This night, she would be the very thing she’d always despised in herself. This night, she had to rely on the mage—the hated mage—that she now found she embraced with all of her heart. It was the mage in her that would save Dimitri.

Digging her feet deeper into the soil, she raised her hands in front of her, keeping movements small and called on the four elements.

I call upon Air, breathe forth a tempest of might.

I call upon Earth, bring forth your trembling might.

I call upon Fire, bring forth your flames.

I call upon Water, wash away that which remains.

At once the wind increased, short little microbursts that shook the tallest of the trees. An ominous crack was loud in the silence of the night. The top of a very heavy tree came crashing down, right on a cabin some distance away. Branches and trunks plunged through the thin roof and landed in the small confines, one of the branches landing directly in the fireplace. Flames shot up the branch, and reached the trunk just as another burst of wind fanned the blaze.

Shouts came from every direction. The earth beneath her shook with footsteps as the Lycans converged on the conflagration. The cabin went up fast, and they had to hurry to keep the fire from spreading to the neighboring trees and other huts. Many of the little structures used dried branches and needles and mud for a roof.

When she was certain every Lycan was engaged in saving their camp, she turned her attention to the hooks. She had to get him down first.

That which is hooked and made to hold,

I unmake your properties so you release and unfold.

Air, I call upon you, float him gently down.

Keep us safe from all sight and sound.

I call upon Earth, take him into your arms,

Surround him, protect him, keep him from harm.

Fire I call you, cauterize his wound.

Burn that which is bleeding, so it may not seal our doom.

Water, I call thee forth, your healing might,

Wash away that which is blood

So there is no scent,

No sight.

Dimitri’s body nearly dropped to the ground, but she was able to send a cushion of air beneath him to float him down. Skyler didn’t let the joy sweeping through her take control. Removing the hooks from his body had been the easy part. Now there was that terrible chain embedded in his very skin. He lay helpless in the thick grass, the chains wrapped tight, biting into flesh and in some spots, bone.

She pressed her lips together hard. She needed to draw on her courage, not think about what would happen after she removed the chains. She wasn’t positive Dimitri would even be able to walk, let alone help if they ran into trouble.

She took a deep breath, let it out and made her try.

Chains of silver bedded within,

Chains of silver under tissue and skin,

Chains of silver connected to bone,

Chains of silver now may you be undone.

Skyler felt her heart begin to accelerate into panic. The chains were so deeply embedded in his flesh they’d become a part of him. Nothing happened. What if she couldn’t do this?

They loosened.

The calmness in Dimitri’s voice steadied her. He sounded the same. Her Dimitri. Cool under fire. A rock. Skyler nodded her head, took another deep breath and tried again.

Chain of silver buried deep within,

Chain of silver wrapped like a serpent’s skin.

Chain of silver that cuts to the bone,

I seek out your making so that you will now be known.

I trace your pattern and follow your path,

Removing your roots as I seal and cast.

In each valley and burn I insert a balm,

So that your poison is ceased and can do no more harm.

Skyler forced herself to go slow, to plan every movement methodically. She couldn’t afford to draw any attention their way. The wind fanned the flames, but she hadn’t wanted to risk a forest fire, so the Lycans were putting it out fairly quickly. She glanced at the flames and waved her hands so that the fire jumped to a second cabin, the roof exploding into orange-yellow flames as the chains fell away from Dimitri’s body, revealing the horrible extent of his burns.

Kneeling beside Dimitri, she put her wrist over his mouth. Now, right here, take my blood. We only have a few minutes. I need you to do this.

He was so weak. She felt his fear beating at him. Hunger was terrible, dominating his every thought now, beating in his veins, through his starving heart. Her blood was potent for him, the blood of his lifemate. It would tempt him as no other. He feared loss of control. His mind was already wandering, the pain mixing with the hunger until sometimes he wasn’t certain where he was or what was happening around him.

Dimitri, feed now. If they find us, they will kill me. Skyler used the one thing she knew would get through to him.

He took her wrist gently. His thumb brushed over her pulse, the movement so light, but she felt that soft touch through her entire body. His lips, cracked and dry, feathered over her skin, right where her pulse leapt. She had expected his teeth to sink in and tear at her, but there was love in his touch—seduction even.

Dimitri lay there on the ground, his burned body nearly paralyzed after hanging in the tree so long and his mind barely comprehending that he was free of the hated silver. He was starving, yet he took great care not to frighten her—or hurt her. She framed one side of his face with her free hand, her palm against those terrible burn marks, trying to soothe away the pain.

His teeth sank into her wrist. For one moment there was blazing pain and then the sting was gone, instantly giving way to something else. Something she hadn’t expected. Josef had taken her blood, and it was purely a necessary function. Neither felt anything when he’d done it. This was so different—and unexpected.

Skyler smoothed back hair from his tortured face and then leaned down to brush kisses over the burned and blackened skin where the chain had dug into his forehead. She had never voluntarily kissed him. Not once in all the years they’d been talking together. He’d kissed the top of her head, and sometimes the corner of her mouth or her chin, but she’d never made a single move to do something she considered intimate.

She thought her kisses would feel healing. She thought she would give him comfort and it would feel that way to her. It was kiss him or cry. Her beautiful Dimitri, so ravaged by hatred when he was capable of so much love. When she brushed those kisses along the line where the silver chain had been, she felt more than just comforting, more than healing. She felt an overwhelming love that seemed, for the first time, to transcend the physical.

She didn’t understand the need that began right there in their worst moment, but it didn’t matter. That was part of who they were together. She would have let him take every drop of blood she had in her body if he wanted—or needed it. It was Dimitri who found the strength to stop, running his tongue over the two holes in her wrist to stop the bleeding and then pressing a kiss over the mark to ease any ache.

He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She saw him there, in his glacier-blue eyes. That smile that didn’t reach his lips, but was there just for her.

We have to go, Dimitri. Can you stand? That was her biggest fear. She couldn’t teleport him out of there, and she doubted if she could even get him on his feet by herself.

I can do whatever it takes. I can’t believe you did it, sívamet, you actually got the chains off. That was a miracle right there. They’d become part of him, eating through his skin and finding muscle until the silver had adhered to every cell it touched, driving him mad.

Dimitri sat up slowly, tentatively, stretching out his arms, finding movement painful, but wonderful at the same time. He didn’t try to stand, his feet and legs were still numb, but he rolled onto his hands and knees, testing his strength. Hunger still was uppermost, thundering in his ears and pounding a demand in his veins, but he could get past it now. Skyler’s blood was a powerful mixture, nearly intoxicating. Still, he was weak, even with what she’d given him.

He was grateful she didn’t panic, or try to force him to his feet. He had to know he could get up and run and then do it, all in one motion. The trees she’d emerged from looked far away. He felt her hand on his back, rubbing, massaging. Healing.

You go first and I’ll follow. Don’t argue with me. Just do it, he told her.

He would bring up the rear and protect her as best he could. They would come after him with silver, and he knew there would be no mercy in him if they got close enough for him to get his hands on them.

Skyler nodded and turned toward the trees she’d used for cover. Dimitri stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him. She was beautiful, crouched there, determination in the set of her chin and shoulders. Love in her eyes. He needed to see that. He needed to see reality. He nodded, and she took off, staying low, Dimitri right behind her.

They gained the protection of the heavy stand of trees. Brush had grown up everywhere, unusual in a forest so dense, where the canopy kept the sun from hitting the forest floor. In the very center of the brush, a thick green carpet stretched out before them. The strip of grass was narrow and Dimitri realized with every step he took, behind him, the grass sank into the ground so that only dried leaves and brush remained, covering their tracks.

Skyler indicated the need for stealth. A guard directly ahead of us.

He already knew that. His senses were coming back, acute, the senses of the Sange rau, or Hän ku pesäk kaikak, whatever he had become. Whatever his mixed blood and the silver had made him. He knew exactly where the Lycan was. They would forever be a stench in his nostrils. He knew each individual. This one had stayed away from him. Several times Dimitri had noticed him speaking with Zev.

They have a pattern they follow when they guard their pack. This man will move to the right while the guards in the outer circle will move to the left to cover where he has been.

He shouldn’t be surprised anymore with any information Skyler had, but the inner workings of a Lycan pack?

The moment the guard shifted direction, she was on the move. How had she known the precise moment the Lycan had changed his position? Dimitri found he was just a little in awe of his lifemate. They edged past the first guard and picked up the pace, moving quickly along the little strip of grass that wound through the trees and kept them covered by heavy brush.