The Nightwind's Woman (6 page)

“Keep that arrogance in check, Kayle, or I’ll
send you out on the next assignment and that one is to Iran in search of a
coven of
caballi
,” the Supervisor said with a growl. “And you’d be
working with Sorn.”

“Just thought to free you up for other more
important matters,” Randon said. “I know how valuable your time is.”

“Arrogant whelp,” the Supervisor grumbled.
He swiped his key card down the slot beside the elevator door then explained it
was a maximum-security level.

The doors slid open with a quiet
shush
and the Supervisor stepped back to allow her to enter.

“His brother over at the Exchange never
learned the manners our Supervisor displays,” Randon commented as he followed Kenzi
and his boss into the elevator.

“My brother never learned a lot of things,”
the Supervisor said with a snort. He placed his hand against a scanner beside
the control panel. A green light read his palm print ID then the elevator doors
closed and the cage engaged with a soft whirring sound.

“Did he tell you his youngest brother runs
Baybridge?” Randon inquired.

“No, he didn’t,” Kenzi said. She looked up
at the Supervisor, whose lips were taut.

“That brother is entirely human and is
married. He’s a physician,” Randon continued. “A criminal psychologist—as is
his lady-wife and her daughter.”

“The daughter is married to the Alpha at
Baybridge,” the Supervisor said. “Viraiden Cree is the Reaper’s name.”

“He’s a badass wolf boy,” Randon said. “Just
ask him.”

“That’s enough,” the Supervisor told him.

“Just saying,” Randon said with a shrug.

“The level to which we are headed is higher
in height than those above it,” the Supervisor said. “The reason being some of
the inmates housed there are quite large.”

“Like the
afanc
,” Randon said. “Ever
heard of them?”

Kenzi shook her head.

“They are twenty yards long and two yards in
diameter. It requires a large tank to house it.”

“It’s a sea creature?”

“Lake,” the Supervisor said. “Welsh lake to
be precise.”

“Ugly son of a bitch,” Randon said. “Rows
of super sharp teeth. Its victims die from exsanguination.”

“Is it the largest creature you have here?”
she asked.

“At the moment,” Randon said. “The largest
is soon to be the
minhocão
that is being hunted down now. It is eighty-two
feet long and four feet in diameter.”

“Largest reptile in the world,” the
Supervisor said. “Said to be an offspring of the god Raphian.”

“I’ve never heard of him,” she said.

“There are files on the computer in your
room that you will need to familiarize yourself with before you start work,”
the Supervisor told her. “It will be helpful for you to know the major players
among the deities for several show up here from time to time.”

“Whether we want Them to or not,” Randon
grumbled.

The elevator settled with a slight bump but
the doors did not open.

“The only people who can access this area
are myself, the two Alphas, and—in case the three of us are incapacitated—my
brothers or the other two Alphas.”

“What happens if all of you are
incapacitated?”

“Everything on this level perishes,” Randon
replied. “Unless either the Father-God or Morrigunia intervenes.”

“Which is unlikely,” the Supervisor added.

“The Father-God?” she repeated. “Zeus?
Jupiter?”

“Jee Yn Ayr,” Randon told her. “He is
Morrigunia’s husband.”

“I’ve a lot to learn,” she said as the
Supervisor placed his hand upon the palm reader and the doors opened.

The room they stepped into was cavernous. Looking
up, she could barely see the ceiling in the muted light that lit the area.

“We have to keep it fairly dark in here
because some of the inmates are extremely photophobic,” the Supervisor informed
her.

“Makes the place that much more unsettling
for any human who ventures here,” Randon commented.

“That’s an understatement,” Kenzi said quietly.
She was glad the Nightwind still had his hand wrapped snugly around her arm.
The contact was comforting. Unconsciously she moved closer to him as they left
the elevator.

“I’ve got you,
küçüğüm,
” he told
her.

“What does that mean?” she queried.

“
Küçüğüm?”
He smiled. “My little
girl.”

The translation made her feel even more
protected.

“The first cell—these are not rooms as on
the levels above—is home to one of the worst creatures we have at Tearmann,”
the Supervisor said.

The doors on this level were all bright
orange and none had windows. Beside each door was a two foot-by-two foot vid-com
viewing screen. All the screens were active and giving off a soft gray glow.

“It took three Alphas to bring this inmate
in from Australia,” he continued. “The creature has superhuman strength and
unbelievable dexterity.”

Kenzi walked to the vid-com screen. What
she saw made her shudder.

“It’s called a
garkain
,” Randon
said, pulling her back to his chest.The creature was hideously ugly
with bat-like wings folded over its massive body. Sharp fangs protruded from
its slick black mouth, the jaws of which constantly snapped.

“The creature will trap its prey within its
wings and the stench will choke the victim until he slowly suffocates. When almost
dead, the
garkain
will begin to drain the blood then devour the victim’s
flesh while he still lives.”

“It is hideous,” she said. “I may have to treat
that thing?”

“It’s possible though not very likely,” the
Supervisor said. “Let’s move on. This is the
jikininki,
” the Supervisor
said, pointing to a screen a couple of doors down from the
garkain
. “Another
flesh eater.”

“He’s showing you the worst of the worst in
appearance,” Randon whispered in her ear as he stepped back to let her follow
the Supervisor. “Try not to gag when you see this one.”

The
garkain
was hideous but the
jikininki
was revolting. It took every ounce of willpower she had not to throw up
when she got a look at the creature lurking beyond the camera of the vid-com.

Hunched over as it traversed its cell from
one wall to another, the
jikininki
was covered with suppurating boils
and lesions that dripped from its loathsome body to plop upon the titanium
floor. Its eyes glowed a hellish red.

The Supervisor stayed well back from what could
be seen on the vid-com screen. His voice was a bit strained as he spoke. “The
most dangerous thing about the
jikininki
is that it can shape shift into
a normal human form. It raids graveyards for newly dead flesh. Desecrating the
dead is a sin in most cultures but in Japan, from whence this evil comes, it is
a despicable act.”

As they continued down the long corridor
and viewed several of the species caged within the cells, Kenzi felt the gorge
rising in her throat. Each new reveal was worse than the one before.

And then came to a group of doors that were
painted scarlet red.

“From here on the creatures are immortal so
cannot be destroyed,” the Supervisor said. “Believe me, if we could rid the
Megaverse of these beasts, we would. You will not be required to treat them.
They are never allowed out of their cells or anyone allowed in with them. I’m
showing them to you so you will know the real reason Tearmann exists. It is
here to house things that have no business being among humanity. Don’t be
fooled by their appearances.”

“What does that mean?” she asked Randon.

“Sometimes true evil comes in pretty
packages,” he said softly.

“As in the case of the
miru
,” the
Supervisor stated. “Take a look.”

The woman sitting demurely on the barren
floor of the cell was spectacularly gorgeous. Her facial features were perfectly
molded and framed by a thick mane of ebony curls.

“She hails from the Cook Islands of
Polynesia,” Randon said. “And she’s a nasty piece of work. I captured her.”

“She looks angelic,” Kenzi said.

“Aye, well, looks can be deceiving,” the
Nightwind said with a grimace. “She will intoxicate her victims with the kava
plant—the roots from which produce a sedative, anesthetic effect—then she will
roast them in an oven she keeps burning day and night. Legend says her victims
are the souls of dead people but when I found her she was roasting a live man
an inch at a time.”

Kenzi turned away.

“I think she’s seen enough,” Randon told
the Supervisor.

“Just one more and then we’ll go,” his boss
said. He led them past a dozen or so doors to one that had thick titanium bars
wielded across it and there were two card slides on either side of the door. “With
this one, we take no chances. The cell is encased in iron to prevent him from
using magic. It takes my card plus Randon’s, the Reaper’s, and my counterpart
at the Exchange to open this door. Each card must be used at the same time. “

“Very strong security,” Kenzi commented.

“That’s because this one is the worst of
the lot,” Randon said. “It took us two years to capture him. Four good men died
before we brought him down.”

She moved away from her escorts and went to
the vid-com screen. What she saw shocked her worse than any of the others she’d
viewed.

This creature bore a striking resemblance
to a handsome television star whose series she watched faithfully and—truth be
told—upon whom she had a fan crush. Tall, dark and handsome with a fantastic
athletic build, the creature was standing in the center of the cell staring
straight at the camera. He slowly smiled to reveal straight, white teeth and
when he did, his blue eyes twinkled mischievously. His dark-brown hair was
streaked with fair highlights, the stubble on his cheeks a much darker shade
than his hair. Twin dimples showed in his tanned cheeks and deepened as his
smile did.

She felt drawn to him as though she’d known
him all her life and had been awaiting his arrival. It was more than just his
intense resemblance to her favorite action TV star. It went deeper than that
but had her life depended upon doing so she could not have explained why that
was. Her body reacted to his exacting male beauty but her soul reached out to
his, her heart yearning to know him as a man.

“That is a
wendigo
,” Randon said,
not bothering to look at the vid-com. “The vilest of the vile. He has developed
the ability—only the gods know how—to shape shift. That makes him doubly
treacherous.”

“He has enormous strength, an insatiable
hunger for human flesh, is keenly intelligent, so fast he cannot be seen by the
human eye and he is evil incarnate,” the Supervisor added. “There is no other
predator in the facility as savage and cunning or as dangerous.” He took a step
toward the vid-com.

Then, in between one breath and the next,
the handsome being in the cell changed into a repulsive beast that rushed the
camera—opening a maw of a mouth in which hundreds of needle-sharp teeth gleamed
and an overly long, thick blue tongue swelled. Huge yellow, protruding eyes
glared at her with such virulent hate she felt it like a blast of sulfurous
wind slamming into her face.

Hello, pretty lady
, the beast said in a garbled voice.
I’ve been waiting for you,
McKenzi Delaney
.

Kenzi felt the blood drain from her face
and when the evil thing inside the room winked at her, she stumbled back from
the vid-com, putting her hand up to ward him off.

“Do you understand why Tearmann is
necessary?” the Supervisor asked. “Why these creatures must be contained?”

“Get me out of here,” she said, trembling.

Randon took hold of her arms and leaned
over her. “You are safe with me, Kenzi. Never for a moment forget that.”

“He… It…” She shuddered hard.

“He can’t hurt you,” the Nightwind said. “He
is within the strongest cell in this facility.”

“I don’t know that I can do this,” she
said, her bottom lips quivering. She cast a fearful look to the screen where
the
wendigo
was once more staring back at her in human form. “What am I
doing here? Why me?”

“Because the Consortium believes you are a
good fit for us,” Randon replied. “First and foremost, we are the front line of
defense against things that have no business being among humanity, Kenzi. Not
all of them are evil like that thing in there. Some are simply mischievous,
even playful, but they can’t be allowed to intermingle with the human
population. Imagine them hop-skipping in front of the local Safeway supermarket
with bags of raw meat clutched in their claws. Some are a bit more dangerous
but the danger they pose isn’t lethal. The creatures who would kill humans are
the ones we seal up tight and throw away the key.”

“Some creatures are evil but can be controlled,”
the Supervisor said. His gaze was locked on the Nightwind. “All they need is
the right incentive and we believe you are that incentive.”

“I need to think,” she said, shrugging out
of Randon’s hold. “Please take me back upstairs.”

Sitting as still as a statue in the
Supervisor’s office, Kenzi stared down into the glass of bourbon he had poured
for her. Hip leaning against the man’s desk, the Nightwind was watching her
with concerned eyes.

“I want the job,” she said without looking
up.

“I am glad,” the Supervisor said. “I
believe you will be an asset.”

“What cemented the deal for you?” Randon
asked.

She shrugged. “The
fantine
,” she
said. She lifted the glass and drained the bourbon.

“My kind of woman,” the Supervisor
observed.

“Why the
fantine
?” Randon queried.

“He was cute and I have a thing for
weathermen,” she said in a brusque, matter-of-fact tone then put the empty
glass on the table beside her with a firm rap. “So what now? What do I do about
the life I have in West Des Moines?”

“We will send a team to pack up your
belongings and vacate your apartment, terminate your lease. We will pay all
your bills, close your accounts, give your car to charity, and basically
disappear you,” the Supervisor said. “From this moment on, McKenzi Delaney no
longer exists in the human world.”

“And my friends? Coworkers? Neighbors?” she
asked. “What are they going to think?”

“We’ll start a rumor that you went into
WITSEC,” Randon said. “Who knows what kind of crime you may have witnessed?”

“Since you have no family to concern
themselves with your disappearance, it makes things a bit easier,” the
Supervisor told her. “No need to make those who know you worry needlessly. The
Federal Witness Protection Program has worked well for us in the past.”

“When can I start?”

“After the contracts are signed, you sit
through the initial indoctrination and are issued the necessary credentials to
move about, you are on your own,” her new boss replied. “Take a few days to
acclimate yourself to the facility. I’ll assign you an advisor to answer any
questions you may have. On Monday, you will begin in-depth training with our
director of personnel. By the end of the week, you should be up and running
well enough to begin a supervised shift or two with our Primary Physician.
After a two-week probationary period, you’ll be running shifts on your own.”

“I can’t leave.”

“You can’t leave,” the Supervisor replied. “Not
for a year or two at least.”

“What if I don’t work out?”

The Supervisor smiled. “There’s very little
chance of that happening.”

“And if I don’t like it here?”

“You will,” Randon said. When she turned up
her eyes to him, he gave her a look that put a flush to her cheeks. “I will
make sure of it.”

“Then why don’t you take Dr. Delaney—”

“I’d prefer Kenzi,” she said. “If you don’t
mind.”

“Kenzi it is,” the Supervisor stated. “We
are informal at Tearmann.”

“Aye,” Randon said. “Most of the time he
just calls me shithead.” He pushed away from the desk and held out his hand.
When she slipped her palm into his, he levered her to her feet.

Kenzi gave the Supervisor a small smile
before moving with Randon to the door.

“One other thing, Kenzi,” the Supervisor
called out.

She turned to him.

“Don’t worry about the creatures on the
lower level. You won’t have any interaction with them unless absolutely
necessary.”

“That suits me just fine,” she said.

She was quiet as she walked beside the
Nightwind. He was taking her to the personnel office to sign her contracts.
Randon tightened his grip on her hand and she looked up at him.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked.

“What isn’t?” she countered. “I’ve got a
lot to mull over. When I took my shower this morning the last thing on my mind
was meeting monsters.”

“Or your life-mate.”

“Didn’t you hear what he said to me?” she
asked.

“What who said?”

“The
wendigo
.”

Randon came to a halt. “He spoke to you?”

“You didn’t hear him?”

His hand became a vise over hers. His eyes
held a glint of red as he stared down at her. “No.”

“He said he’d been waiting for me. He
called me by name.”

The Nightwind’s eyes narrowed and the glint
of red became a glow that stopped her breath. “He did
what
?” he asked in
a voice that was barely above a whisper. When she didn’t immediately answer, he
moved closer to her. “Tell me! What exactly did he say?”

“He called me McKenzi Delaney. He knew who
I was,” she said when she could draw air into her lungs again.

Randon shook his head. “That’s not
possible.”

“He did,” she insisted. “I wasn’t hearing
things.”

For a long moment he stared at her then
resumed walking.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, stumbling
along in his wake.

“The contracts can wait. There is something
else that needs to be done now!” he replied mysteriously.

* * * * *

He took her back to Level Four and to her
room. Her eyes widened when he put his hand to the scanner beside her door and
it opened.

“Why do you have access to my quarters?”
she asked.

“Because you belong to me,” he replied.

“What?”

He didn’t answer but drew her with him
through the great room and into her bedroom and to the bed. He let go of her
arm and began to unbutton his black shirt.

Kenzi gaped at him. “What are you going to
do?”

“You know perfectly well what I am going to
do, Kenzi,” he said as the shirt came undone and he flicked open the buttons at
the cuffs. He shrugged out of the shirt then tossed it to the chair beside the
bed. His hands went to his belt.

“No,” she said, shaking her head.

“I’ve claimed you dozens of times in your
dreams,” he said through clenched teeth. “It is time I claimed you in real
time.”

“Not like this you won’t,” she said and
turned to go. She didn’t get far before he snaked out a hand to grab her,
pulling her back to him, slapping her against his naked chest. When she
struggled against him—pushing against his pecs as hard as she could—he wrapped
his arms tightly around her.

“Be still,” he commanded harshly and when
she turned furious eyes up to him, he took possession of her gaze easily with
the powers he had at his command. When he ordered her again to be still, his
voice was a soft, insistent demand that wound its way sensuously through her
mind.

A tingle shimmied through her body as he
held her against him. The heat of his body went straight through her clothes to
pool between her thighs.

“You are mine,” he said, holding her eyes. “You
have nothing to fear from me,
Küçüğüm.”
He unwrapped one arm from her
body to place his palm against her cheek. “I must do this. I must claim you to
keep you safe.” He caressed her face then cupped her chin. “Do you trust me, Kenzi?”

“Yes,” she whispered, unable to look away.

“Do you want me?” His voice wove around her
like bands of electricity.

“Yes.”

He regarded her silently for a moment then
released her, stepped back to continue removing his clothes.

“Undress for me, sweeting,” he ordered in a
gentle voice as he unbuckled his belt.

Held captive by the heat in his amber eyes,
Kenzi did as he asked. She watched the color of his gaze go from tawny to
molten gold as she unhooked her bra and let it fall at her feet. The intensity
of regard deepened, grew so hot she felt moisture gathering at her temples.

“Now the panties,” he said in a husky voice
that sent shivers down her spine.

Pushing the lacy garment down her hips
while she watched him step out of his own pants made her lower body clench. He
had no underwear to hide the hard jut of his thick cock from her. Her eyes
lowered to that long, powerful shaft and held.

“All for you,” he said.

She drew in a breath at the sensual offer
inherent in his words and slowly lifted her eyes to his. The golden orbs were
undulating with a lust so potent her entire body felt the power. From scalp to
toes, she was tingling.

“All for you,” he whispered and drew her to
him. Hooking one arm under her knees and bracing the other behind her back, he
lifted her high against his chest, turned and carried her to the bed.

He dipped one knee upon the mattress and
lay her down like a sacrifice to his growing desire. Held captive by his
compelling stare, she flicked out her tongue, curled it over her bottom lip
then slowly drew it back into her mouth. His gaze lowered to the wetness on her
lip, lingered for a moment then rose to meet hers.

“I have waited a lifetime for this night,”
he said and eased his body over hers—one knee to either side of her hips. For a
moment he supported his weight on his hands, which were braced beside her
shoulders, then he slowly, sensuously lowered his body to hers, sliding his
chest down hers. He stretched out atop her and fit as though they had once been
part of the same mold. Reaching down, he threaded his fingers through hers then
brought her hands above her head.

“This is so much like my dreams,” she told
him.

“What I do, I draw from your subconscious,”
he said. “Those things that arouse you, bring desire to your body, are the
things I will gift to you.”

He shifted his weight to one side then
insinuated first one knee then the other between her legs, easing her thighs
apart so he was wedged between them. His cock felt like iron pressing intimately
against her core as he pushed it against her.

He lowered his head, put his lips to her
ear. “Do you want me?” he whispered.

Shivers ran down her side as his warm
breath spiraled through her ear. The muscles in her lower belly compressed. His
weight was so sublime pressing her into the mattress. The strength of him, the
delicious heaviness that seemed to push the blood directly to her cunt.

“Yes,” she answered, unconsciously trying
to lift her hips in invitation to be taken.

“Then you shall have me,” he stated. His
fingers tightened around hers, he arched his back and with one sure stroke he
entered her. “All of me.”

Kenzi heard a sound come from her throat
she’d never heard before. It was a soft, growling sound that seemed to emanate
somewhere deep inside her and it was lost as his mouth descended upon hers. The
insinuation of his tongue between her lips brought another sound—an expectant
whimper—that caused her to dig her fingernails into the backs of his hands. She
ground against him for he was immobile as he lay over her with his cock buried
within her aching folds. She groaned and tried once more to writhe beneath him,
to entice him into thrusting, but his weight was too heavy and he was content
to let her lie there impaled by his rigid flesh.

She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and
moaned.

She whimpered.

Then she growled in frustration and heard
the soft—almost evil—chuckle that irritated her even more. He wasn’t moving.
Wouldn’t move and she was on fire needing him to. He had possession not only of
her body but her mouth for his lips and tongue were all that were moving. She
was drowning in his kiss for it was doing things to her she neither understood nor
was handling very well. She felt like a captive and he the conqueror who was in
complete control.

She grunted and a fleeting thought spiraled
through her mind to bite him in order to get her point across but when she
opened her eyes she saw he was staring at her as his tongue raped her mouth.
There was a warning in his gaze that made her think better of hurting him.

He continued to kiss her—hard and thoroughly—until
she believed she’d go stark raving mad then he stopped and slowly lifted his
head. His fingers released then clenched even tighter around hers and then with
infinite deliberateness he began to ease out of her cunt.

“No!” she pleaded. Her body was one hot
mess of need. She could feel her juices clinging to him. Tears formed in her
eyes. “Please.”

The slow, wicked smile that began to spread
over his sensual lips should have been a warning but she was too frustrated to
interpret it for what it was. He was pulling out of her—was almost out—and the
defeat was almost more than she could bear.

In her misery she missed the strange glint
in his amber eyes that flashed for only a second before he snapped his hips
forward with such ferocity, such potent intent that it scooted her body up the
mattress.

The orgasm that rocked through her the
instant his cock touched her cervix elicited a startled gasp from her lips and
before she knew what she was doing she had her legs wrapped tightly around his
hips—drawing him to her, pulling him in as far as he would go—as the release
went on and on. It was a maddening itch that pulsed throughout her cunt and she
ground herself against it, wanting more. Never wanting the glorious,
intoxicating feel of it to stop. It wasn’t until he began moving rapidly within
her—thrusting hard, deep—that she screamed from the sheer pleasure of what he
was doing to her. Her nipples grazed his chest as he writhed atop her and that
started another round of such intense sensations between her legs she spiraled completely
out of control.

“Take it,” she heard him command. “Take all
of it!”

When he came, the jerk of his hard cock,
the pulse of it as he jetted deep inside her made her arch her head against the
pillow until she was afraid her neck would snap. Another orgasmic wave
undulated through her with a fierceness she didn’t think she’d be able to
survive. Any moment—she thought—her heart was going to burst or stop completely.

“Take me, Kenzi,” he said as he poured into
her—hot seed scalding her tender folds. “Take all that is me.”

A distant part of her brain told her he was
marking her as surely as if he had taken a brand to her flesh. Every spurt of
his cum was a marker that flooded her body with his total possession. She was
his in ways no mortal man could ever have or make her.