Raining Kisses (The Opeth Pack Saga Book 2) (16 page)

“Savas is coming for you. He says you’ve tainted her and made her even less desirable.” She barely managed to get the words out between sniffles.

Gritting his teeth, he began trembling with anger. Hate filled his veins for the man he had become, hatred for the man who would do awful things to Krystyna. “Did that son of a bitch hurt her?”

“No. He didn’t. He said she wasn’t worth wasting his time on any further if she had been with you. He wants your blood, says he needs it to open up the gateway to Paradise.”

Nicholaus gasped.

“Figures.” Selene retrieved another glass and poured port into it. “Your liquor cabinet is well stocked, Nicholaus.”

He rolled his eyes. “You don’t say.”

Selene handed the glass of port to Katarina. “Here, child.”

Katarina took the glass and drank the entire contents. “Thank God.” she wiped her mouth.

Nicholaus would have loved to lick the port from her mouth. He hated himself for the fact that he’d turned his back on his lovers and still desired them.

Pointing at Nicholaus with his cigar, Józsi took a puff. “I see the look on your face, Nicholaus. Get over it. We’re wolves. What we are is confusion to me as much as it is to you. But we still feel, even if we lose our way sometimes.”

“Sounds like the boy is learning,” Selene poured another glass of port for all of them. “What’s the deal with Savas? When is he coming for Nicholaus?”

Katarina swallowed another large sip and rushed to Selene. Throwing her hands around the older woman, she hugged her tightly. “Why,” she whispered, “does all of this have to happen?”

Selene wrapped an arm around Katarina and smoothed her hair against her shoulders.

“Why, indeed,” Nicholaus repeated.

Kissing Katarina’s forehead, Selene began to glow. “I don’t know, child. Just survive. You’re not alone. Things must occur for the prophecy to properly be adhered to. I’m still going through my great grandmother’s books trying to discern the entirety of this damned thing. All I know is that Nicholaus is not a gateway for anything outside of the Opeth Pack. If he takes his place beside our somewhat unsteady alpha, it will give us a show of strength in the eyes of those who would have you thrown out of Heaven.”

“Why do we want this Heaven?” Nicholaus took his cigar from Józsi and puffed on it. He tapped the ash into the tray beside him and strolled out to the balcony.

Ashing his cigar, Józsi followed him. The door closed behind him.

“Look at all the people.” Józsi exhaled and blew smoke into the air.

“Yeah. I know.” Nicholaus looked down at the sidewalk below them. His glance roamed over a couple, a wolf couple that walked past a streetlight toward The Library bar and grille.

For a few minutes they leaned over the railing, scanning, observing, watching the humans and occasional wolf pass by.

“I didn’t want to need Lukina. Or Ilona,” Józsi broke the silence, taking another long puff on his cigar before letting the steady stream of smoke escape into the air.

Nicholaus turned to face him. “Then why did you?”

“I couldn’t stop myself from caring any longer. I had nobody. Living in Houston was fine. But living alone isn’t really living, Nicholaus. I don't know if we need bother with the idea of Heaven, nor do I give a damn. Right now, we exist on this plane. Know one thing. That woman in there loves you. She loves the wolf, the illusion of man, everything about you. Hell, she even loves the loneliness about you, as it’s something to focus on as a way of giving you a cure for it. So does Krystyna. If they’re anything like Lukina and Ilona…”

Nicholaus looked back through the glass at Katarina and Selene. Both women appeared to be chatting and hugging. It hit him that he needed that type of relationship in order to survive. Right now he was just living, if one could call it that…

“Will Krystyna forgive me for leaving her to Savas?”

“I can’t answer that question. Neither can Selene. Selene knows a lot about this pack, knows things I’ve yet to understand but that’s her duty as pack witch. How she knew any of this is beyond my understanding, but her magic is pretty powerful. The ties she has to all of us have made it difficult for us to move without her knowing, which is good. Ultimately." He sighed. "She’s sort of a historian. I’m only now learning the hierarchy. But Selene can only hope as much as I can.”

“Fuck.” Nicholaus slumped his shoulders.

“Just be prepared to give her your all, Nicholaus.” Józsi turned and leaned against the railing.

The door opened and Katarina stepped outside.

“You’ll catch a cold out here.” Nicholaus smiled weakly at Kristina.

“I’ll leave you two alone.” Józsi took a puff on his cigar and blew smoke out over Central Avenue. Then he walked inside and poured another glass of port for himself and Selene.

“I…” Katarina stopped.

Nicholaus turned and looked at her. Dark circles under her eyes showed just how tired she'd been, but not from just the flight. Her mouth hung open, her disheveled hair hung around her face. “You still look so terribly distraught,
kedvesm.
What can I do to ease your pain?”

Katarina stopped short of putting her arms around Nicholaus. “You can stop being this person who hates who he is. Stop being the loner when you're loved. Stop giving us only half of you. That would go a long way to erasing the sadness in our hearts.”

“Katarina, I—” Nicholaus shrugged. He didn’t know what to say. Never had he given fully of himself. No one had been worth it and the lies he'd told himself about Krys and Katarina had been just that, lies. Krystyna’s betrayal, even that attempt at…what the hell was she doing lying for him?

His world had been built upon trust in only himself and the house came crashing down in a matter of hours.

“Just embrace us. Tell me, promise me that you’ll fight for Krystyna.”

“I don't know how…”

She pressed two fingers to his lips, “None of us do.”

He swallowed hard, the lump in his throat making breathing difficult. Looking past Katarina at Selene and Józsi through the glass door, he saw something he hadn’t noticed before. Józsi's eyes held a sort of kindness. Hidden away, yes. But it was still present. Nicholaus didn't remember the pup from their childhood; only that Kiba kicked him around and made him this angry child who only seemed to find comfort in his two mates.

Nicholaus had committed murder and sworn he’d never become his father, then left the pack shortly after. His body was painfully lonely without the two of them at night. He definitely needed them for sexual release. No other women were capable of giving him what they could.

She clasped his hands and bowed slightly toward him. “Then you’ll conquer Savas?”

How could he do anything less? For Goddess' sake, Krystyna stayed behind and sacrificed herself for him. He wasn't sure how he'd do it, the general moved fast. Maybe Selene moved faster

He hadn't sensed the witch’s power in full, so had no idea.

But this was his fight, above pack issue.

“And you’ll defeat him and thwart off any further advances by the Turkish packs?”

“Yeah.” Nevermind the fact that he had no idea how he'd accomplish this, but he'd stop running. He'd man up and fight for what he loved, because that's what Katarina had done for him by coming here. She'd fought against her fears, boarded a plane without Lukina, trekked from the airport to here and stood before him to ask him this simple request.

Her expression softened, she'd cocked her head and took his hands in hers. Warmth, compassion, that fucking white light, surrounded him, dug into his skin and coated him with the sensation of tranquility that provided him the opportunity to see clearly now. “I believe you can. And you must.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Prophecy?”

She nodded. “And a need for solidity amongst the remaining members of our pack. And a sign to show the others like you that we are regaining our greatness.”

“Fuck.”

"More importantly, a sign to us that you're here forever. No more struggles without asking for help. No more love from a distance, Nicholaus." Katarina threw her hands around Nicholaus’ neck, pulling him to her. “I need you to feel with me what Krystyna is feeling. I need you to understand that Savas is not only upset that she belongs to us, that she is Hungarian, but that she is a healer his pack desperately needs and that she's complying out of terror.”

He swallowed hard. Screams of agony filled his ears, the tortured souls of those in the Turkish pack who died of sickness, died of overworking, of stress. He tried to shake it off but found it impossible.

Then he honed in on a familiar sound. The woman in question…he suddenly saw through her eyes. Felt her actions.

The fear creeping up her spine, anguish prickling her skin. Savas lorded himself around the room she’d been forced into, stopping, stroking that ungodly beard, then looking at her with lust in his eyes. He'd lifted his hands, balled his fists and then shoved them back into his pockets with jerky movements while pacing back and forth.

But he refused to take action, thank the goddess.

That didn’t mean Krystyna knew that.

He started for her then, stalking across the room to grab her tattered shirt. “Why won’t you have me?”

“Because I don’t love you. I did what I did because I made a mistake in coming to you for help. I fucked up, and now I'm fixing my mess.” By now she'd begun yelling.

“You came to me with the understanding I would help you. I would ease your pain from the loss and spend nights with you while you suffered in your loneliness. And I did. I gave you my word I’d keep your mate alive in hopes of him coming back, but I fell for you. And to top that off, I kept him alive for you in the hopes you’d stop pining over him when you realized just how much of a deserter he was. And in return you promised to one day become my pack's healer. I'm only asking you to pay up.”

She could only sigh, the pressure in her chest growing almost too tight for Nicholaus. She’d done all that for…what?

“You have to see the importance of being our pack healer. We’re dying off by the day, each wolf gets sicker and those who have strength work harder, burning themselves out.”

She shook her head and wrung her hands together. “Prophecy is what it is, Savas, I cannot change that.”

“No,” his eyes narrowed, “but you can stave off the inevitable. I’ve seen glimpses of your power. You can heal us.”

The uncertainty swimming around her head remained unvoiced. She blinked, hated the angry look on his face but found herself unable to do anything about it. She couldn’t go back on her word, but couldn’t save the pack. Even her power could do nothing to stop the inevitable.

Heavy sorrow weighted on Nicholaus’ shoulders. He wanted to strangle this man, at the same time he felt sorry for the pack that couldn’t be saved. The only answer he could come up with was to let fate kick in…

He shuddered, though Krystyna’s body remained paralyzed by fear.

“Please,” Savas didn’t appear to like the position he’d been put in, but his eyes became round, wide, open. “You’ve got to try. Even if…”

She looked away. “Fine,” she huffed, “but I'm not joining you in bed.”

Savas’ dark eyes glowed, but before Nicholaus saw anymore, he was jerked back into reality on his patio with Katarina stroking his hair.

She didn’t want him. Goddamnit!

Before the anger even swelled, tranquil energy surrounded him and shut down all the thoughts he’d normally have.

He lifted his head, met Katarina's loving gaze. “I’m a drain, aren't I?”

She nodded. The second she stopped the influx of calm, his body filled with a sudden chill. Intense loneliness started swallowing him, forcing hope from his mind. Desperation and fear made him shudder until Katarina pulled away. “What was that?”

“Her energy,
drágám.
She is so scared right now.”

“Still, she is a healer. Can’t she heal herself and help them too?”

Katarina closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his neck. Her mouth was warm against his skin. “No. She cannot. Each pack has its own members who perform those duties. Savas has yet to find those for the Turks. I doubt he ever will. His selfishness blinds him to what his gifts truly and will be their downfall.”

“Your lips feel sad against my neck,
szeretõm.
Why?”

“Because I love all things Nicholaus.”

He inhaled her scent, so lupine, so perfect. “I see.”

“You and I have a special relationship that goes beyond that. Never forget that.”

Nodding, he wrapped his hands around her waist. Her voice sounded sweet to him, like honeydew. “When will Savas be here?”

“Probably first thing tomorrow.”

“How did you manage to escape?”

She hugged him to her body. “Nicholaus, they let me. He sent me out so I could deliver a message. I suspect he'll follow. I was only a few hours behind you. Lukina was home still and managed to help me get back here. Otherwise I’d be lost. She’ll be here shortly too.”

Nicholaus sat on the chair beside the door. “Probably knew you would head to me. I take it they probably know where I live now.” Nicholaus closed his eyes. Memories of a few traded punches told nothing of value about the caliber of fighter. And would the wolves march through Albuquerque? That would be stupid. It’d alert all the hunters in a hundred mile radius to their presence and any who felt the wolves were demons would surely engage and kill.

Stronger yes. Faster? Wolves. Highest numbers?

Humans, by far.

What the hell was the Goddess thinking in making wolves the protectors of mankind?

Katarina nodded. “I tried to take a different route here, but you’re so easily found. Why did you choose to live here?”

“Because amongst the humans, I blend in. They’re so busy partying that they don’t see the wolf.”

“Please come back to Hungary when this is over. You won’t have to worry about illusions and discovery if you return with us.”

“Katarina, if you want all that, then you’re going to have to take things one step at a time.” His voice sounded gruff to him. He hated that, but she couldn’t push him. Gently guide him perhaps, but his emotions were already on overdrive from the fact that he’d almost written off both his lovers over his own stupidity, combined with the fact that he’d been a fool to ever leave Hungary without them. Nicholaus felt the only way a man in his position could feel—lost.