Hot Blooded

leave. He is deeply troubled by all that has transpired. If our Queen discovers my secret, she will want our blood and souls as payment. My brother will not survive without a court. His choices are limited. He can join us, drink your blood, and pledge himself to you, or he can flee and spend his life running.” She shrugged her petite shoulders.

“That’s not exactly a compelling argument to sway him to our side. What if we pretend you were killed in the battle here?” Assuming we all got out alive in the end. “And Eamon goes back to court with the story of your death? Could we get away with that?”

Eamon stormed into the cave. “And what happens when my sister is found alive and well? Her bond to her Queen mysteriously broken forever? I would only be buying myself time. Months at most.”

“Eamon, if there’s a question,” I said, “there’s almost always a solution. You just have to believe we can find one.” I turned to Naomi. “Has he always been this way, or was it an aftereffect of becoming undead?”

“He has always been strong-willed,” she answered, stifling a smile. “It is his nature.”

I turned back to an angry Eamon. “To avoid fallout, you can tell your beloved Queen you believed your sister to be dead at the hands of Selene and you fled. Naomi broke your Queen’s order to help us, you tried to stop her, she was killed, and you left. The Queen has likely felt the loss of connection to Naomi and will assume it’s the truth. Anything that ‘miraculously’ happens after that is not your issue. Then, when Naomi is found alive, we can blame her short ‘death’ for the severed bond with your

Queen.” My gaze landed back on Naomi. “Has a vampire ever come back from a true death before?”

“Non. ” Naomi shook her head. “Not to my knowledge.”

“Great,” I said. “Problem solved. Once you’re found, people will wonder, but it won’t matter if it’s never happened before. Your Queen will have no reason to believe my blood was the true culprit of the severed bond, and not death.”

Eamon sputtered. “It is not as easy as that!”

Naomi waved her hand, effectively cutting him off. “Enough of this. We waste time. Eamon, it is of little consequence now. We do not even know if I will emerge alive from our battle with Selene.

Once we have an outcome, we will forge something reasonable.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” I mused. “But I’m actually hoping we all make it out alive.”

Tyler strode up beside me. “We need to move now. We’re wasting time.”

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

“I feel something strange,” I told Danny, who stood next to me. “The game with Selene has shifted.

She wants me and I’m taking too long.” Shivers ran up my spine as the energy in the air seemed to move on its own. We stood on the shallow ledge outside the cave we’d just emerged from, waiting for

Naomi to come back. I’d sent her to check on Ray and drop off all but one of the packs with him, since we wouldn’t need them until we were done anyway. Tyler had gone with Eamon to scout the climb.

Danny shook his head. “I don’t feel anything, except for the new massive strength running through my veins thanks to you. I feel like I could take on a goddess and win.” He flexed his muscles and grinned. “It’s a rather nice feeling.”

I smiled. “That’s a good thing, I hope.” I kicked some rocks out of my way and glanced around for any ugly bugs that might be wandering around. No Scorpers in sight. Danny had kept a good vigil while I was out. Some had come out of the cracks below us, but it looked like we were up too high for them. “The vamps say it’s a short, steep climb up and to the right,” I said. “Once we get there, we stick to the plan.”

Naomi had agreed to come in after us carrying the spell darts, but Eamon refused to commit to helping us in any way. Tyler and Danny were going to shift outside and follow me in. It was the best plan we had.

My mind raced to Rourke. His blond stubble, his ridiculously clear green eyes, him laughing,

fighting, his arms on my waist. My wolf sat up and whined. We will get him out alive. She barked and flashed me a scene of her own, him in the creek, shirtless, the sun glinting off his body, dark tattoos snaking up his forearms, beautiful and bold. Then she did something she hadn’t done in a long time.

She echoed his voice in my ears. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’s all going to be okay. ”

I stumbled forward, my breath catching in my throat, producing a strangled mew before I could stop myself.

Danny whipped his hand out and yanked me back from the edge. “I don’t think now would be a good time to head down the hill,” Danny chastised. “Plus, that would be quite a setback having to dig your broken body out of the rocks below. We are up quite high, you know.”

“I can see that. I’m sorry,” I stammered. “I just… something caught me off guard. Thank you for catching me. Where’s Naomi?” I scanned the sky. “She should’ve been back by now. It should’ve taken her five minutes. There must’ve been a problem with Ray.”

That was unfair, I scolded my wolf. Hearing Rourke’s voice had overwhelmed me and triggered a new flood of emotion I hadn’t realized had been lingering right under the surface, waiting for just the right moment to erupt and swallow me whole. My wolf lifted her muzzle, curling her lips, showing me her teeth—almost a snarl, but more like a warning. I get it. I might be actively suppressing my emotions, but it’s only to protect myself so I don’t go insane. It’s a human coping mechanism, and I happen to need it. You can’t expect me to think like you do this quickly. She chomped her muzzle down twice, her eyes flecked with violet. Okay, but ask yourself this—what if we’re too late? The thought of losing Rourke forever sent emotional needles prickling through me, causing me actual, physical pain.

I rubbed my arms.

My wolf turned her back on me, her fur bristling. Fine. You don’t want to talk about it. But maybe my not dwelling on it has some merit. It will be devastating enough to see him hurt. Selene will not go easy on him. My wolf slowly turned to look at me and a scene shot into my mind, clear and bright like a movie playing out in front of me. Two children. A boy and a girl. One blond, like her father, one dark like his mother.

A child ran toward me, his arms open.

What are you doing? I cried out in my mind. Stop!

I was too horrified to shut her down; instead I watched as I stepped into the frame, happy and laughing as the child raced toward me. I bent down to embrace him, and right as he bounded into my grasp the images evaporated before me, leaving total grief in its wake. Shocking, awful misery pounded against my heart, threatening to suffocate me completely. That was totally uncalled for! I yelled, rage churning inside me. What can you possibly gain by torturing me with something like that?

My wolf shifted her head to the side. She quieted completely, as if she was waiting for me. It took me a minute, but then I understood. She wasn’t trying to hurt me. She was showing me something. What happens if this doesn’t become a reality? What are you trying to tell me? She lay down and rested her head on her paws and whined. You have to tell—

“Jess,” Tyler called, charging around the corner. “Naomi and Eamon have vanished.”

20

“What do you mean vanished? How do you know?” My fingers traced to my temples and I pressed hard. We are not done here, I told my wolf. Her eyes were already closed on the subject. I actually wasn’t sure if there were words for what she has just tried to show me. The sense of loss still flowing through me was unfathomable. I knew without a doubt if my children were never born, something would change or be broken. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to find out what that something was, because whatever it was it was big and horrible.

“I know she’s gone because I just found Ray,” my brother informed me. “I climbed straight up from here. There’s a shallow butte at the top. He’s there and pissed as hell at being left. Naomi never showed. No packs, no