Bella Vita (49 page)

“
Your turn.” My eyes shut
as I followed our link, tracing each pain and throb in his body.
The injuries were minimal. I willed them away. When I opened my
eyes, he was watching me.

“
What?” My voice was
defensive.

“
Nothing. You are just so
beautiful and when you wield your craft it seems to cause you to
glow.” He reached up and touched my cheek.

“
As do you when you cast.”
I laughed and held out my hand to him.

“
Like this.” His hand was
sparkling with light as he grasped mine.

“
Yes, just like that.” I
watched as his entire being shimmered with a golden shine- it
slowly faded as he recalled his spell.

“
Show-off.” I smiled and
pushed him back after he got up.

“
I feel perfect. I don't
know how you do it, but it's amazing.” He offered his
arm.

“
Kiss-ass too...” I was
snickering now as I took his arm.

We walked back into a heated situation. Dom
was clearly trying to keep them in the room and they were concerned
for Mike. I tried hard not to laugh.

“
What took you so long?”
Acacia snapped at him as soon as we walked back in.

“
There were things that
needed to be discussed.” Mike's smile slipped away and his
expression turned blank and cold.

“
Things you couldn't
discuss in front of your pack or mate?” She sneered- her eyes
seemed to glint.

“
Acacia, that is enough.”
His tone was not something to challenge.

“
I'm sorry that it took us
so long. I had a personal vampire matter to discuss with Michael,
please forgive me for detaining him.” I tried to placate
them.

I watched as the two wolves with them
accepted the words as true, and I saw Acacia's suspicion- I knew
she could smell the vampire blood on him, and my scent- but she
couldn't say for certain that Mike had taken my blood. It was
obvious she suspected it.

She
knows
. I sent the words to Mike as guarded
as I could.

Doesn't matter.
His mood was not improving.

“
We know that the wolves
are very busy with their own issues at this moment, but we'd like
to extend an invitation for you to stay as long as you like. We're
very grateful for your assistance in saving my grandfather.” I
didn't consult Dominic, I knew he would say “no” on principle, but
I knew what needed to be said to help build relations.

“
While your offer is most
generous, we must return to Ireland. We want to be present should
any further attacks occur. However, tonight we would like to stay
the evening and hunt with you and your people.” I could see the
shock on Acacia's face, but the respect from the other
wolves.

“
You're most welcome to
assist in tonight's task of trying to protect our people from what
seems to be plaguing us both.” I smiled.

“
I'll send in Yasmin to
show you to a couple of rooms, so you may rest until later.” Dom
told them as he called for her.

I waited for Yasmin to lead the wolves away
before I turned on him.

“
You are a complete idiot,
ruled entirely by emotions... do you have any idea what you could
have done?” My voice was steely.

“
I may be ruled by my
emotions, but at least I consider the emotions of others. Do you
know what you could've done by sharing blood with him here?” His
eyes were like sharp glass.

“
Absolutely nothing.” I
felt my defense kicking in.

“
Not only you could have
upset our small alliance with the wolves because of Acacia- pulling
at their loyalties- but you could have showed our people that you
would rather be with
another
man than with your own King. How do you think
that looks?” He was hurt, but trying to manipulate the pain into
something useful.

“
I don't give a flying fuck
about what Acacia thinks. I do see your point about our own people.
I'm sorry I hurt you, Dom. I wish that you could understand for two
seconds what I go through. The constant pain I'm in because I'm
split down the middle. I've told the words to you before, but I'm
two people... two people that love two different men.” I turned and
walked out of the room.

“
Or you the pain I go
through to see the woman I love with everything that is me,
struggle for her own emotions and try to be two conflicting people.
If you only knew what you cause me...” His words followed me down
the hall.

I didn't eat, I needed to feel my body
hunger. I needed to feel my blood thirst come in waves. Part of the
pain was my punishment for hurting Dominic once again. The other
part would help me on my hunt. I had food sent to the wolves, and
Dom's favorite sent to him. Two hours before we were to leave, I
called everyone into the new War room.

“
Tonight we hunt what has
been hunting us. This will require stealth. I've arranged for
vampires to be stationed throughout the city- protecting our
people. I couldn't reach any of the other vampire heads yet, so
this will have to do for now. After our acceptance tomorrow, I can
have protection arranged for all the cities. But tonight we go out
in two groups- one will circle the outside of the city, the other
the inside.” I had a layout in front of me.

“
For now, the vampires will
be on the inside. Our people are currently trying to adjust to
having wolves as friends not foes.” Dom's voice was
honest.

“
I'll run with the wolves
on the outside of the city, we will have backup vampires circling
the outer roads.” I told Mike's people.

“
I doubt that all of this
is necessary.” Acacia chirped in.

“
Acacia, we're fighting
this same fight in our own land. We'll see if this approach works
and learn from our alliance with the vampires.” Mike's voice was
short again.

“
I'm sorry, you're right.”
I could see the role of the alpha at work.

“
We have some final members
of our team have to get ready, you're free to stay in the room or
walk the grounds. We'll leave in about an hour and a half.” I said
to the wolves, trying not to make them feel dismissed.

“
Thank you, Emma. We'll go
outside and get a feel for the world around us.” Mike took his
people and left.

“
Mia
bella
, I'm worried. Acacia doesn't like
you. I want you to take more vampires with you.” Dom's face creased
with concern.

“
Mon
amour
, you worry too much. Mike would
never let anything happen to me. Derrick will be in the van that
I'm in constant communication with, and you and I have our link.
I'll be fine.” I kissed his cheek.

“
I love how you're using
the French you learned for Kelly.” He laughed.

“
It's good for something.”
I winked at him.

“
Okay, so you're going with
the wolves and Derrick will be our go-between. I'm taking three
small elite teams into the city. We'll have a man stationed within
an inner circle for each of the three teams. These men will
communicate with each other and Derrick. I'm hoping that by
overlapping our circles we will not miss anything.” He sighed in
exasperation.

“
Don't fret. We'll stop
this before more are hurt. If we don't get them tonight, we'll get
them
soon
.” I
hugged him.

I thought that the night would be welcoming
to our venture- I was terribly wrong. In the short time that we had
rested, the sky turned dark and unwelcoming. I knew rain was
coming. The moon was hidden behind the thick, ominous clouds. The
air seemed charged with static and electricity.

“
Emma, there's going to be
one hella storm tonight.” Mike's voice was raised over the
winds.

“
We'll face them head on.
We won't be stopped in our mission just because the weather doesn't
want to cooperate. It might just be a created storm anyways.” I
sniffed the air trying to get a feel for what was ahead of
us.

I knew I could look ahead at the future of
those around me for moments that didn't involve me, but even that
could be fleeting. This was a monster that needed to be met without
fear- even if it was unknown.

“
As you wish. Perhaps you
should shift now.” Dom's words circled from behind me.

“
Yes, of course. Could you
take my clothes to Derrick after it happens?” I asked him, I felt
suddenly very self-conscious.

“
Of course,
mia bella
. Here, change
in the back of the car.” He held open the back of one of the
vans.

“
Thank you, Dom. I love
you,
je t'aime
.”
I climbed in and felt him shut the door firmly behind
me.

I tried to keep the pain of the shift under
control. I soon found out that the weather around me affected how
the change felt inside me. Violent pain swept my body. I fell to
the floor of the van panting, trying to keep from making
sounds.

Mia
bella
?
Dom's
voice danced in my mind like stars.

It... is... the...
weather...
was all I could manage through
my mental pants.

What do you mean?
He was trying to keep his calm, I could feel him
move toward the back of the van.

No. Don't open it.
The pain wracked my body and I cried out in
pain.

“
Emma!” Dom's and Mike's
voice blended together as I grasped the doors to ensure I could
complete the change in private.

They pulled but couldn't move them.

Let me change.
I directed the thought at both of them, this
change was longer than most and felt more draining.

“
Leland! What is happening
to her?” Dom's voice boomed with anger.

“
I think that because Emma
is so sensitive to her surroundings, the weather is making her
change more difficult, and from the sounds of things- painful,
mate.” The Australian told Dom, his voice was calm and
cool.

“
Will she be okay?” Mike
snapped.

“
If she's not we'll heal
her. She has all of us healers here- whether she knows it or not.”
He laughed.

A blind rage filled my link to Mike.

Michael O'Shanold! You calm
down.
My mind blanked suddenly and the
world went black.

When the world came back, I was a wolf. I
let out a brief howl, and scratched on the door.

“
Holy hell, Em, you scared
the hell out of me.” Dom said as he hugged my furry self to
him.

It wasn't
intentional.
A light drizzle was
starting.

“
Okay, we're ready then.”
Dom made a signal I recognized as the one that said I was a wolf
now and only mental communication was available.

I let out a low howl, my
sign to the wolves to shift.

The crackling of bones settled around us as
we waited for the four wolves to shift. I could only imagine what
it would be like to be around an entire pack changing at once. I
shuddered.

It's time to move out.
Check in every hour. If you find anything use the proper chain of
communication. No one confronts this alone, we go together.
My voice filled the minds of those around
me.

The wolf collective shared their affirmation
as I received the ones from the vamps.

Tonight will be one for the
books.
I thought as I took off at a light
run next to my werewolves.

The night passed as painlessly as possible.
We ran our circuits and checked. It wasn't until right before dawn,
as the storm hit its full force, that things started to get
strange. The weather shifted in key locations. It was done to throw
us off. The wolves and I were running through hail. Lightning
cracked and we forced our progress forward through hurricane
winds.

This is a
distraction.
I passed to our
link.

We know. It's working.
We're missing something. We should check in with the others.
I received back.

Derrick?
I sent my head of security, trusting the
wolves.

Emma... something strange
is happening.
His voice was mentally
distorted- this was not something that normally
happened.

Derrick, what's your
position?
I knew instinctively that I
needed to be where he was.

About three miles southeast
of our last location. The other main contacts are having... we
can't keep our lines of communication together...
I felt the physical break of the
communication.

We need to head southeast,
now!
I shouted to them and took off at
full-throttle.

By the time we reached the van, it was
flipped over. I knew they were still alive- just barely. I shifted
back to my vampire form and ran naked to the van. It was crushed, I
could smell the blood. Panic seized my heart. I pushed the van. I
had the strength to flip it back over but it was so large it was
making it difficult to maneuver.