Destiny Unchained (18 page)

“You…affected me,” she said. “I won’t lie. But I have
a purpose and it doesn’t match up with yours. Let me go without a
fight, Cristian. Please.”

Never. “Sit down.”

“No.”

His jaw clenched. “If you’re going to pitch me some
lame ass excuse, at least have the decency to let me respond to
it.”

Indecision weighed on her face, but she nodded and
sat on the edge of the bed, as far away from him as she could.

“If my pack is your only obstacle, we can deal with
that. No one said you had to give up hunting dangerous rogues. I
only ask for a fair trial before you murder them. And my pack will
accept you because they’ll have no choice.”

“So I’ll always be the giant elephant in the room?
How tempting.”

“They’ll get to know you. They’ll see all the things
I love about you.”

She snorted and stared at her hands. “You’re
delusional.”

He’d pretty much just told her he loved her and she
snorted derisively. He wanted to shake her.

“Besides, that’s only one reason it won’t work,” she
continued. “I’ll also lose my gift. The witches will never let me
keep it knowing I’m sleeping with the enemy.”

“You don’t need the gift.”

She cast him a sideways glance. “You don’t know how
many times I’d have died without it. No. I won’t give it up.”

“You’re safe with me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Safety is an illusion people
cling to so they can sleep at night. I’m safe with no one.”

He exhaled a patient breath. “You hold onto your gift
like a child holds onto a favorite blanket. Do you really think you
won’t survive without it? After everything we’ve been through, you
don’t trust that I can keep you safe?”

She rose from the bed with a burst. “This isn’t about
trust, don’t you understand that? It’s who I am.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not. The witches have
you by the balls with this so-called ‘gift’. They keep you bound to
them. It’s not healthy. Take off your chains and be who you’re
meant to be.”

“You sound like a bad motivational poster for
depressed teenagers.” She tapped a foot and crossed her arms.
“Okay, let’s go ahead and visit Cristian’s Land of Delusions and
pretend I do ditch the witches and live with your pack. What then?
You command your pack to love me and I become an object of
resentment, living ostracized on the fringes? Do your delusions
include me getting pregnant with your werewolf offspring? ‘Cause
guess what? I’m a vampire. I can’t get pregnant. Did you even think
of that in your ridiculous fantasies? No heir. No family. No –”

He jumped from the bed and grabbed her shoulders in a
bruising grip. “Forget all the obstacles. Forget about the witches
and the pack and everything else. Pretend we’re just a man and a
woman, nothing more. Do you want me?”

“The question is irrelev –”

He shook her. “Do you want me?”

“Yes.” The answer appeared to slip from her mouth
because she winced.

He clasped her to him, holding her tight when she
made a half-hearted attempt to get loose. “Then we’ll get through
the rest.”

“That’s stupid and idealistic,” she mumbled against
his chest.

He kissed the top of her head. The flowery smell of
her hair made him smile. “It’s love, baby. Love conquers all.”

She gave him a dry look. “You eat far too much
Chinese food.”

Hope replaced panic as he grinned down at her. She
wanted him. Nothing else mattered.

“We both lost our mates,” she said. “What makes you
think this will work?”

“We have to choose love. Humans do it all the
time.”

Her eyes widened and she shoved his chest. He let her
go. “The human divorce rate is fifty percent!”

“I’m not saying it will be easy. Feelings are fickle.
They change faster than the weather. Have a bad day, piss me off, I
might get angry. But when it comes down to it, I’ll always choose
love. I may never be able to fix the ache Eli left in your heart.
But I might be able to dull it. Maybe, by choosing love, we can
make each other happy.”

Her eyes narrowed to cruel slits. “And how do you
plan to make me happy, Cristian? Love? Is that all you have to go
on? Warm fuzzies? You’re dumber than I thought if you really think
that’s all it takes.”

She was baiting him. He knew it. But it still stung.
He closed his eyes and fought back the urge to pull her into his
arms and kiss the fight right out of her. There was only one way to
get through to her. He was risking his heart, but as he’d heard
recently, love was for the brave.

He put his arms out to the side and swallowed hard.
“I’m not perfect. I’m pushy and protective and I make mistakes. But
I know you. I
see
you. Likely better than anybody on this earth.
And I love you, Natalia. I don’t know if it’s enough, but I do know
this” – he paused and choked back the emotion lodged in his throat
– “there will
never
be anyone who can love you like I do.”

He thought he saw her eyes glisten with moisture and
her lower lip tremble, but she blinked and was deadpan again.

“After everything we’ve been through,” his voice was
a raspy whisper, “can you honestly say you don’t love me too?”

She stared at him, her face so strained he feared it
might crack. “No, I don’t.”

He bit back a growl. “You can lie to yourself, Talia,
but you can’t lie to me!”

“I won’t give up everything for you. I’m sorry.”

Her words hit him like a kick to the teeth. She may
love him but she’d never acknowledge it. She was done and there was
nothing he could do about it. It was like a knife to his heart. He
almost sunk to his knees. All this time he’d thought there was
hope. But he was wrong.

Anger built inside him. He’d pushed so hard, believed
in her, fought for her, and all of it for nothing. She was never
going to change. Claws extended from his fingertips. He could feel
fangs pushing on his gums. Natalia took a step back.

“I thought I knew you,” he snarled, stalking toward
her. “I believed in you. I thought there was something there you
didn’t show the world. I thought you showed it to me because we had
something special.” Her eyes widened and he forced his feet to
remain in place. “I can’t believe how wrong I was. There’s no hope
for you after all. I give up. I’m done following you around. If, a
few months down the road, it finally gets through your stubborn
head that I’m the best thing for you, don’t bother trying to find
me. Consider me off your leash.”

He stormed out of the cabin and slammed the door
behind him.

Natalia flinched when the door slammed. Well, that
didn’t go quite as planned. She’d expected him to be mad, yes, but
not….not…aw, fuck! Not heartbroken. Not torn apart with sorrow. Her
eyes stung with unshed tears.

And now he was gone. Just like she wanted. A cold
shiver swept through her body.

Yes, this was what she wanted.

She pushed one curtain back and glanced out the
window. The first streams of sunlight peeked over the mountain
ridge. She was bone tired and an emotional wreck. Sliding into the
bed, she burrowed under the covers and wept. Come morning, the
woman who smiled and laughed and made love in the mountains would
be a memory. When she stepped out of the chalet and into the snowy
woods, she would be the Huntress once more.

A week after leaving Natalia alone in the chalet,
Cristian finally went back to his pack’s home base in central
Yellowstone. The familiar smells warmed his heart that still ached
from Natalia’s rejection. He’d run as a wolf for the last week to
calm himself. But he’d been away long enough. The pack needed their
alpha.

An inner peace settled over him as he strolled
through camp. The love and support from his pack swept through him.
He inhaled and soaked it in. But it still couldn’t fill the giant
gap left in his heart. Part of him wanted to sneak by and hole
himself up in his cabin for a few more days. But his pack needed to
know he was there. They needed to know they could lean on his
strength. Always dependable, that was him. Halfway through camp,
after stopping to catch up with a few people here and there, he
caught Sorin heading toward him.

Cristian did a double take. Something was off about
his best friend. Sorin, the formidable pack beta, had a spring in
his step.

“Welcome back,” Sorin said with a handshake and a
grin.

“Good to be back.” It sounded like a lie to his own
ears. Sorin’s grin widened and his eyes glittered with…joyfulness?
Cristian studied him with narrowed eyes. “What’s going on? You seem
different.”

He took a deep breath. “I have something to show
you.” He motioned toward the edge of camp and Cristian followed.
“Where’s your vampire?”

My
vampire.
He snorted to cover the stab to the heart. “Gone.
And she’s never been mine.” Wasn’t that the God honest truth?

“Hm. I’m glad you got your sense back.”

He ignored that comment. “Anything happen I need to
be aware of?”

“We took out a vampire coven in our territory.”

“A whole coven?” Maybe Sorin
could
take over if Cristian ever
went rogue. “Is everyone all right?”

Sorin shrugged. “A few injuries, no casualties.”

“I’ll visit them when I get settled.”

Sorin led him across camp to the flat dirt clearing
that served as a combat training ring. With a glowing smile
uncharacteristic of the beta, he said, “I’d like you to meet my
mate.”

Cristian exhaled a laugh then stopped when he saw the
dead set look on Sorin’s face. He wasn’t joking. “You? A mate?” He
looked toward the kitchen. Must’ve been a brave woman to court him.
“Well, where is she?”

To his surprise, Sorin pointed to a young woman
sparring in the training ring. Though small, she was doing a hell
of a number on her partner, a male werewolf at least a foot taller
than her.

Cristian looked from the young woman to Sorin and
back again. “You’re kidding.”

The female in the ring was no submissive wolf. He
never thought his best friend would take a mate who didn’t fit the
fifties version of the marital life he valued.

Sorin looked offended at Cristian’s dubious
expression. “I’m not joking. Harmony!” he called to the girl in the
ring. “Come here, baby.”

The woman landed one more roundhouse kick then jogged
to Sorin’s side. The petite blonde looked nothing like a fierce
warrior. And if he hadn’t already known her, he never would’ve
pegged her for one. She had an innocent look that contradicted her
job as one of his best rangers. Sorin kissed her sweetly then
turned her head to the side and pointed to the dark bruise on the
woman’s neck. She rolled her eyes and slapped him away.

Cristian eyed the new mark. “Is the mating
recent?”

Harmony scowled. “The bastard keeps marking me every
morning before I leave for work.” She half-heartedly shoved
Sorin.

“You know you like it.” He grinned like a lovesick
puppy. “Harmony, this is Cristian, your pack alpha, but I’m sure
you already know that. And Cristian, this is Harmony, my mate.”

Cristian shook her hand. “Harmony, good to meet you
again, and congratulations on mating the ornery bastard who can’t
keep his teeth to himself.”

She laughed but Sorin’s brows furrowed. “Wait a
minute. You’ve met before?”

Harmony’s laughter died as her cheeks turned pink and
her gaze dropped to the ground. Not wanting to embarrass her,
Cristian gave a loose version of their first encounter. “There was
an incident involving a few turkeys freed from their pens before
Thanksgiving last year. Harmony was…kind enough to help me replace
them with frozen ones from the grocery store.”

Sorin narrowed his eyes. “Uh-huh. She does have a
knack for trouble. But don’t worry. Now that I’ve taken her in
hand, she will be a shining example of pack obedience.”

Harmony’s eyes widened then narrowed and she lunged
at her mate. He laughed and leapt into the training ring. They
launched into an impromptu sparring session, more playful than
serious.

Cristian was thrilled for his friend, but jealousy
ran icy cold in his veins as he watched the newly mated pair. He’d
once played like that with Natalia.

He sighed and walked toward his cabin.
Best get her out of my
mind.
The vampire was gone and he was alone. Again.

Crouched close to the ground, Natalia crept silently
through the leaves, her sharp gaze focused on her target. The wolf
pulled at the deer carcass, his pointed teeth stripping the meat
off the bone. Sword at the ready she ducked down, ready to pounce.
The clouds parted and the moon lit up the plain. She stopped. The
wolf’s coat shone a sandy blonde, reminding her of Cristian.

Her brief hesitation cost her the hiding spot. A gust
of wind blew her scent straight toward the rogue werewolf. With a
menacing snarl, he shifted to his crinos form. Natalia rose up from
the ground and gripped her sword loosely with both hands.

“Come on, fucker,” she murmured. A good fight was
just what she needed.

She stabbed the beast in the stomach when he leapt at
her, but he managed to swipe his claws across her neck before
falling into a roll and running away. A strangled grunt escaped her
at the painful burn. Collapsing on the ground, she clutched her
bleeding neck and tried to regain her breath. Red stained the
half-inch of snow around her. Her eyes watered and weariness
overtook her as she stared at the starry sky. Her body ached from
hunger and exhaustion. The eastern Idaho sky didn’t look much
different than Wyoming, she noted deliriously.

She’d hoped her life would return to normal once she
got back into her routine. But she was wrong. Cristian had done
something to her – changed her irreversibly.

A painful spasm rocked through her stomach, which
made her neck throb as the blood flowed from the gashes.