The Bloodline War (42 page)
Authors: Tracy Tappan
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Military, #Paranormal, #Science Fiction & Fantasy, #Fantasy, #Science Fiction, #Genetic Engineering, #Paranormal & Urban
“Actually….” She flipped her eyes meaningfully toward upstairs. “I was thinking more like a game of hide the salami.”
He barked out a laugh.
“What, have I already worn you out?” It was amazing what happiness could do for a woman’s sex drive. As soon as Tonĩ had told Kimberly that the community needed a lawyer, pretty much right after Tonĩ had taken over, Kimberly had been making up big time for the long dry spell she’d put her husband through.
“Hardly,” Sedge drawled.
Yeah, great thing about a Vârcolac male, one whiff of a mate’s blood and he was raring to go. Waggling her eyebrows like a villainous lech, she took her husband by the hand and led him up the stairs.
* * *
One week later.
“I really don’t see why this mission is necessary.”
Alex rubbed a hand over his mouth and nodded, trying to look like he was giving Roth’s comment serious weight rather than the
you’ve got to be kidding
he was actually thinking. He glanced around the U-shaped table at the other Council members—a Council being just one of the many great changes his sister had made since taking the co-helm of Ţărână—checking for reactions. Only the primary four had been gathered, Jaċken, Tonĩ, Roth, and Alex himself, due to the urgency of the matter that needed deciding.
Dev Nichita was also here, waiting for the Council to give him the nod for this mission. Or not. He was standing at the open end of the U, his hands locked at the small of his back and his legs planted wide. From the steely cut of his bearded jaw, it was clear what Dev’s thoughts were: something along the lines of
quit being a pussy, Roth, and let me do my job
. Jaċken had recently created a Special Ops Topside Team to deal with problems with the community’s new Om Rău enemies, and Dev was the man he’d put in charge of it.
Alex shifted his gaze over to Jaċken, but his brother-in-law’s thoughts were more difficult to divine. Jaċken was busy eyeballing Tonĩ’s throat, the long stretch of her skin exposed by her up-style hairdo.
Gimme a break.
Alex almost rolled his eyes. When
wasn’t
Jaċken eyeballing Tonĩ with a mind on grody stuff?
Huh
, yeah, Alex had learned the hard way never to go over to the Brun household without calling first.
Bleech
…although, okay, Alex was admittedly really glad that whatever had made Tonĩ bolt her marriage three months ago—something she’d never discussed with him, surprisingly enough—had clearly been ironed out. He’d never seen his little sister happier.
Alex glanced down at the table, envy over the intimacy Tonĩ and Jaċken shared stabbing through him. He’d kind of…well, hell, he’d really figured he’d be linked up with someone himself by now. Guess it’d been a mistake to assume his royal-ness would attract a swarm of female candidates for the future Mrs. Parthen. Turned out the exact opposite was true. The Vârcolac women were so star-struck by his status they barely even talked to him.
He’d lived through one month of this ridiculous dating drought, and then Roth had finally grown as fed up as Alex with the situation and butted in to arrange a blind date. Not surprisingly, Roth’s mate-of-choice for Alex had been a royal Fey Vârcolac by the name of Jennilĩth.
The blind date had gone pretty well, and now the two of them were seeing each other regularly, but…you know, Alex was still waiting for the wow factor to go off in his heart. He wasn’t sure why it hadn’t yet.
“What’s your reticence, Roth?” Tonĩ asked, bringing Alex back to the present.
His sister was seated next to him along one arm of the U, her head bowed as she re-read the email Alex had hacked out of the airwaves. It was a message from their bigger and better enemy, the Topside Om Rău, to their good ol’ everyday enemy, the Underground Om Rău. According to the message, the Topside Om Rău were handing over four Dragon women to the Underground Om Rău at a warehouse in a few short hours. Why any Om Rău would give up one precious Dragon, much less four, was a mystery, but one that didn’t require solving for them to act. At least not to Alex’s way of thinking.
Not so Roth.
“This mission is too risky for the indefinite benefits it would bring us,” Roth argued. “We’ve brought eight women into the community just yesterday, whereas the four we discuss now are a complete unknown. We don’t know if they fit the other required parameters, or if they’re even remotely interested in joining us. I say our resources are overburdened enough already.”
Alex cleared his throat to call attention to himself. “Thing is, Roth, those eight were the only women off an original list of fifty who accepted our offer.” And didn’t the town shit a collective gold brick when Alex had unearthed that many Dragons in California. Yet,
finding
Dragons had been a whole different deal than convincing them to spend a year in an underground cave away from their families. “Do we really have the luxury of ignoring any we can lay our hands on? They’re the key to the salvation of your race.” Yeah, kind of something he hadn’t thought he’d have to remind Roth about.
Roth frowned. “Many of those fifty have expressed an interest in joining us at a later date, when the timing in their lives is better.” Roth snapped his chair straight. “I assure all of you, I don’t underestimate the value of these women. How many years have I lived with the threat of extinction of my own race? But, need I remind you that on this mission our warriors would be facing down members of
both
the Underground and the Topside Om Rău. We have no idea how many men that could be, although I think it’s fair to assume that their numbers would grossly exceed ours. We can only spare the barest number of warriors for Mr. Nichita’s team. The safety of our current eight is our first obligation.”
Alex sighed under his breath. The man did have a valid argument. Ţărână’s Om Rău neighbors posed a constant threat.
Tonĩ leaned back in her chair, the look in her eyes that stubborn glint which always popped an
uh, oh
, into Alex’s mind. Probably Jaċken’s, too, if the man had learned anything in nearly four months of marriage. “You bring up all good points, Roth, but here’s the thing that’s itching at my conscience. Four women are about to be handed over to some extremely unsavory men and we’re privileged to
know
that. Do you really feel comfortable just sitting back and doing nothing to save these poor women, regardless of whether or not they bring us a direct benefit? Because I’m not sure I do, not after my own experiences with these Topside Om Rău.”
Oh, boy
. Cranky face Roth.
Dev, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to zip over and kiss Tonĩ.
Tonĩ glanced across the U-shaped table toward her husband. “Can you give us a risk assessment, Jaċken?”
“What do you want me to tell you?” Jaċken snapped. “The pucker factor on this mission’s going to be damned high, but as you just said, does it really fucking matter?”
Tonĩ lowered her lashes and flicked her husband a
look
.
Yeah, that hadn’t been so helpful.
Jaċken laid an arm on the conference table. “This mission is do-able,” he continued in the kind of hard tone that suggested impatience on a level with Dev’s. “I wouldn’t have put Nichita in charge of it if I wasn’t sure he could handle it.”
Alex glanced over at Dev, the large Vârcolac’s black fatigues barely containing all of the huge, bulging muscles of his body. Alex made a face. Man, he really needed to get into the gym more often.
“And who will Mr. Nichita be leading?” Roth asked curtly.
Dev answered that. “Costache, Pavenic, and Stănescu.”
“Only four men total?” Roth turned back toward Tonĩ to give her an astounded look. “You’re really supporting this?”
“It’s what the warriors train for, Roth,” she said softly. “I trust in their abilities.” She looked at her husband again. “This is ultimately a decision for the Head of Security, though. It’s your men who’ll be put in danger, Jaċken.”
Jaċken shoved to a standing position almost before the words had stopped coming out of Tonĩ’s mouth. “Put your team in the field,” he ordered Dev.
“Yes, sir.” Dev swiveled an about-face, long strides taking him from the conference room.
The rest of them scraped to their feet.
“You’ll excuse me,” Roth said stiffly. “Other matters need my attention.”
Alex jammed his hands into his pockets as the rear door closed behind Roth. “He’s not going to be the life of the party for a while.”
“The hell with him.” Jaċken’s jaw somehow managed the feat of growing even harder. “I hate it when he gets like that.”
“I know,” Tonĩ said gently. “I’m sorry, honey.” She set a hand on her husband’s forearm. “I’m working on him.”
Jaċken checked his watch. “Shit,” he growled.
Tonĩ’s brow furrowed. “Will Dev’s team make it in time to save those women?”
Jaċken met his wife’s gaze, the line of his mouth grim. “It’s going to be tight.”
Gift Option
I hope you enjoyed THE BLOODLINE WAR. Word of mouth is an author’s Willy Wonka Golden Ticket, and so if you wouldn’t mind, taking a moment to leave a review, I would very much appreciate it.
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www.tracytappan.com/bloodline.html
In appreciation of your time and effort, I’m offering a FREE short story to fans who leave a review. Send a screen shot or copy of your review to [email protected] and you’ll receive “Lună Zână,” a story about three residents of the town of Ţărână who broke a sacred law of the Vârcolac more than thirty years ago. Their wrongdoing will eventually culminate in a revelation that changes one person’s life forever, and only fans who read this story will have a clue to this incredible secret.
**More gritty adventure and raw passion in The Community Series**
Book 2, THE PUREST OF THE BREED, which focuses on the notorious Nichita family, is coming soon.
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About the Author
I’ve always been fascinated by men who make their way by their weapons, from every kind of ancient warrior to modern day soldiers. I suppose that’s why I married a man who used to saddle up on an H-60 Seahawk helicopter strapped with Hellfire missiles and spend his days fighting bad guys. Now I put my imagination to work writing about tough, but sensitive, heroes who wield swords, knives, guns, and their bare fists…and, of course, the women who tame them!
After earning a Master’s degree in Marriage, Family, and Child Counseling, Tracy Tappan worked in the clinical field before devoting herself full time to writing. She has a fertile imagination, reaching back to her childhood, which has compelled her to write in a multitude of genres. In nearly a quarter of a century of being a military wife, she’s lived all over the United States and in Europe, enjoying seven years overseas, first in Rome, Italy, then in Madrid, Spain. She’s now settled back in sunny San Diego with her husband, a menagerie of pets, and two children who seem to think they can come and go as they please.
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