Taking Nicole (Vegas Mates Series)(#4) (14 page)

Applause drowned out any other sound.

He shouldn’t have died. I cost another man his life. He shouldn’t have even been in the fight.

“It was his choice. He was fighting for you.”

I don’t care!

“I will kill you!” Nicole jumped from her seat and screamed, letting his death and Henrick’s fuel her anguishing wail. Because of them, she’d never know a true mate bond. It was the Council’s fault. The shout echoed through the arena and everything stilled.

She leapt from the platform where she and her grandparents were seated, landing with a soft thud in the sand of the arena. Another growl tore from her lips and she flung her arms out, hoping there was enough energy left in her to push him back like she’d pushed Carlotta at the palace.

It worked.

He flew backward about ten feet and landed on his ass.

She kept running, scooping up Karl’s dropped sword, and continuing toward the fallen bastard who wanted to steal everything from her and believed he had the right to do so.

A sound like thunder filled the amphitheater as every door swung open and crashed into the wall behind it.
 

She froze, as did every other person in the arena.

Men dressed in a variety of garb walked, one through each door. They marched to the edge of the arena seating and then turned and climbed the stairs. Each sat quietly in the eleven single throne-like chairs above each family.

Holy crap.

She turned to face the Antipas seats. Both of her grandparents sat silent, their faces as white as a full moon. Seeing terror fill their faces was a welcome change from the smugness they normally wore. The Antipas Original took his seat quietly in the chair above them.

The witches had stopped chanting and Nicole could feel her strength returning.

A slight turn brought her gaze to the Demakis seat. The lower chairs were empty, but the throne above them was not. In it sat a man so similar to her father it made her breath hitch. She swallowed and took a few steps toward him.

It wasn’t her dad, though. Her mother had killed him. She’d never hear his deep voice or feel his arms hold her in a tight hug. But his eyes … his eyes were shared by the stranger on that throne.

He held her gaze and stood. “This ceremony is over.” His voice echoed powerfully through the stillness of the amphitheater.
 

No one spoke against him. Not a single mumble could be heard.
 

“Nicole Antipas Demakis is of my family line. She does not wish this match. Therefore it will not proceed.”

The powerful bass voice was different than she remembered her dad’s, but it held a similar calm.
 

She sighed and dropped the sword onto the sand at her feet. The nightmare was over. This long-lost Original had halted the whole thing with four words.
This ceremony is over.
 

Relief spread over her, then panic.

Aaron!

What if he didn’t approve of a match across shifter species? To have come through everything and then still be denied her true mate would be unbearable.

“She is mine,” the suitor spoke up from behind her. I won the right to claim her. The Council laws and traditions have carried over centuries.”
 

Her magick rose with her anger. How dare he speak now? Her hands clenched into fists and she whirled on her heel. A blur passed her by, sending a breeze through her hair. She turned.

The Demakis Original paused in front of the arrogant suitor for only a moment before his head shifted into that of a black wolf and he tore the throat from the man in front of him.

She held back a shriek, her body trembling. The last suitor dropped to the ground facedown, his blood reddening the sand.

“Nicole is of my family line,” the Original roared. “I am her Alpha before any other. The lower Council has no authority over her any longer.”

She snapped her focus from the bloodstained sand to his face. He turned and met her gaze, eyes as black as the midnight sky. No gold flickered in his eyes. His head was in human form again and blood dripped from his mouth.

The magick pouring from him was strong and warmed her skin. It mixed with hers and soothed her rattled nerves. Strangely, she didn’t fear the man, or creature, standing before her.

“Does anyone else feel the need to make a claim over mine?”

The amphitheater remained silent. Even the parents of the royal he’d just slain remained still. Their son had behaved stupidly and they were well aware.

A moment later his hand was on her arm. He led her out of the arena and up to sit in what would have been her grandfather’s chair. His grip was firm, but gentle on her arm and he ran a quick hand through her hair, tucking a wayward strand behind one of her ears.

“Stay here. The night is not over yet,” he whispered, then left her and continued up the stairs to her side and returned to his throne.

Her eyes widened. The weak bond she shared with Aaron flared. He was close by.
Why?
Why had he come here? He’d be killed.

“Maybe not. The royals don’t look like they are in charge of anything anymore.”

True. But I told him to go. I told him I would die before being taken.

“You forget he can feel you too, Nicole. He knew you hadn’t died.”

A man walked out into the arena and crossed his arms over his chest. Scent dictated he was human, but his magick was different. It reminded her of …
Kate.
 

The sound of footsteps echoed through the silent amphitheater. First it was only a few people walking through the doors. Then dozens. When the room grew silent again, hundreds of people stood crowded into the spaces between the royal families.

They all looked pissed, but the royals looked positively sick.

“Your sins have come to confront you. Your cruel and malicious treatment to your fellow shifters was not welcome news to your Alphas. They are disgusted by your behavior and have asked these children present to forgive their neglect.” He gestured to the crowds standing quietly at each aisle. “Your Alphas take blame for allowing these crimes to come to pass, but promise you that those responsible will not escape punishment. Only two families were found blameless. The Demakis family and the Mavros family.”

Growls and snide comments about them being traitors to the Council were tossed forth by many. The announcement didn’t surprise her. She knew her father had never completely followed Council dictates. And the Mavros family ... she laughed.
Aunt Melinda would have kicked Uncle Marrock’s ass if he’d tried to lock up shifters.

Her wolf chuckled.
“Your uncle never gave a shit about being a royal and never will.”

He might have to if he comes face to face with that giant sitting in the Mavros throne.

“First time for everything,”
her wolf replied.

But that means his parents’ ideals lay with my father’s.
She glanced toward the small group of Mavros wolves. They sat proudly, but silent.
I guess Aunt Melinda’s sway carries further than we realized.

“The sentence passed by your Alphas is that you are to be stripped of your magick. You will be allowed to live out your lives, but as humans. For those of you who’ve already lived beyond a typical human lifespan, you will have mere hours before your body gives out.”

Snarls rose from the royals, but before they could move from their chairs, the creator lifted his arms. Silence fell over the arena again. The royals and their children were thrust back into their chairs as if invisible ropes pulled and tethered them in place.

“I suggest you say your goodbyes now,” the creator spoke again. “Those of you who are young in human years will live out your lives as humans, under the watchful eye of your Alpha.”

Magick flowed from the creator in waves, affecting only the wolves he intended. The ones he’d called children were quiet, but whispers could be heard and they were able to move. Movement along the top of the amphitheater caught her eye. A second later, she smelled the Demakis Alpha at her side.

“It is time to go, Nicole.”

“I have to find Aaron.” She looked up into inky black eyes devoid of emotion. “He’s close. I can feel him.”

The Original nodded, taking her by the arm and leading her through the crowd nearest them. The crowd turned and followed them. One by one the big metal doors closed, vibrating through the building and sending a chill through her body. She counted the deafening booms …
one, two, three, four, five …
all the way to eleven.
 

One door for each of the werewolf royal families.

Where is she?

“Close.”

The bond between Aaron and Nicole flared. The wailing and terror-filled cries coming from the amphitheater made him take a few steps toward the building. But Lee had said to wait. He’d said under no circumstances should he enter the building, if he wanted to get Nicole back alive.

The former prisoners filed out of the building quietly. They moved in small groups and made their way back to dozens of parked vehicles.
Where was Nicole?

“Aaron?”

His heart leapt at the sound of her voice and he turned. She was alive! Safe. Thank the gods … or perhaps the creators.

She ran across the lawn toward him and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. “You’re here. I’m so glad you’re here.” She pulled back and glared at him. “You shouldn’t be. You should’ve taken your sister and gotten as far away as you could.”

He growled and shook his head.
Stubborn ass woman.
“When have I ever done what you told me to do?”

A huff of exasperation escaped from between her red lips. He wanted to taste her. Take her. Her scent said she was unmated ... unmarked. No man had touched her … except the one who’d been walking at her side from the exit. The stranger’s magickal scent covered her, but it was different. The unfamiliar werewolf hadn’t claimed her sexually, or marked her, but a claim had been made nonetheless. The power emanating from the man a few yards away was more powerful than any royal he’d come across, though not as mind-altering as being in a car with three creators.

It didn’t matter. She was safe and that’s what Lee had promised. If it had taken this other man claiming Nicole to accomplish the feat, then he would accept that fate. He had no right to kiss the woman clinging to his body.
 

But she apparently couldn’t care less. Her luscious lips pressed against his and her tongue fought to enter between his. The little she-wolf wouldn’t take no for an answer. Her fingers tugged roughly at his hair until he opened his mouth to complain. She tasted like freedom and a sweet dessert wrapped into one. He wrapped his hands around her back and lifted, pressing her closer to his form. Her breasts crushed pleasantly against his chest and her scent filled his lungs, but so did the other man’s, and that was disconcerting.

“Nicole,” he whispered when she came up for air. “Who is the man staring a hole through me?”

She never stopped kissing him, instead just moved to lavish kisses along his jaw and neck before nipping his ear hard enough to make him want to throw her on the ground and ravish her in front of everyone.
 

The things she made him want to do … every cell in his body desired her. His every thought since she’d left the palace had been self-destructive. He’d let her go. How could he have betrayed the true mate that fate had designed for him?

“The Demakis Original,” she finally breathed into his ear and twirled her tongue around the lobe.
 

The caress sent a zing straight to his dick. His leopard was screaming in his mind to find a quiet spot and mark her already, but his gut was saying he needed permission. He wasn’t a wolf. Their union would bind her to his clan. What was left of it, anyway. He and Sasha were the only ones he knew still living.
 

With him, Nicole’s children would be leopards.
 

Most wolves couldn’t stand to be around cats. It was likely her pack would feel the same way. The fact that he’d assaulted several of them and kidnapped the latent named Sarah didn’t weight the scales in his favor, either.

He took hold of Nicole’s shoulders and pulled her body from his. She released him and puckered her lips into a pout that brought carnal images to mind. He was hopelessly and forever in love with this spitfire of a woman who’d never feared him, and challenged him at every turn.

Their life together might be lonely and nomadic, but it would never be boring. Of that he was sure.

The Original started forward and stopped just inches from Aaron’s face. His eyes were black and his face devoid of emotion, but as the werewolf’s magick mixed with his he felt was no hostility. Only curiosity.

Aaron relaxed his shoulders and took a step sideways, putting Nicole somewhat behind his body.

The other man smiled. It changed his whole face. His eyes morphed to a teal blue, very similar to Nicole’s. The intimidating blackness disappeared and he appeared more human. His face showed lines and a few wrinkles, but the average person would have guessed his age somewhere in the mid-to-late-thirties. Certainly no one would’ve ever thought he was as ancient as the soil beneath their feet.

“The claim was only a formality for the ceremony. Nicole is yours if she so desires. By the greeting she gave you, I don’t think there’s much doubt of that. My magick will leave her once a mark is in place.”

“You don’t object to our match?” Skepticism threaded through Aaron’s voice. He would be taking an heir to a werewolf Council seat. She was the culmination of two powerful families. Aaron’s leopard was strong, but even he knew that Nicole at full strength, and with some serious training under her belt, could kick his ass.

“I do not argue with what fate has decided. The Council’s first mistake was to force marriages upon couples who did not belong together. They have paid for that mistake and others, and the Council is no longer theirs. Lycurgus sought us all out and we shall stay until a new order is created.”