Dark Lycan (Carpathian)

“Sir, I believe you are trespassing into areas we never discussed in our negotiations.”


Shocked, Zev slid his hands from beneath her shirt. Her skin had been so hot to the touch that he actually felt the cold of the night on his fingers.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. Every time you take someone’s blood do they feel like I do?” If so, he was just a little bit jealous, although he wasn’t familiar with that particular emotion and was guessing at it.

She shook her head. “No. It’s never been like that before.”

“Good.” He wanted to be her first. Maybe she’d remember him the way he knew he’d always remember her. “Do I get to bite your neck?”

She laughed, breaking the slight tension between them. “I think it would be safer if we just use my wrist.”

“Safer, but not as much fun,” Zev pointed out.

She bit into her wrist and offered it to him. Bright drops of blood seeped along the laceration. He took the proffered wrist and raised it to his mouth. Even her wrist gave off that beckoning scent of wild honey and citrus that he’d come to identify as Branislava. He licked at the ruby droplets. She tasted as good as she looked—better even. She could be addicting, and that was dangerous for his species. Hot, fresh blood this good was a temptation none of them dared have.

Lycans always had to be cautious ingesting blood. They were predators. Feral. Civilization had come to them, but deep in their hearts, they would always be wild. Blood sang to them. Called to them. Whispered and cajoled. Her blood was exceptional—the taste exquisite.

Branislava put her other hand on his shoulder, her eyes meeting his. The feeling was nearly as erotic as it had been earlier when she’d taken his blood. He let himself fall into her unusual eyes, let himself feel that moment fully. He would never again have a chance to be this intimate with her—and it was intimate.

Fen had said she couldn’t fall in love with anyone else but her lifemate, but she felt that same magnetic pull toward him as he did to her. He saw it in her eyes and felt it in her mind. Her blood was rich and hot. So hot. So good. It energized him.

“Enough,” Branislava cautioned. “I can’t be weak when I’m in the air.” She tugged at her wrist.

Zev let go immediately. He was rough and crass compared to her, but still, she didn’t take her gaze from his and she closed the wound in her wrist with her tongue.

“It’s done then?” he asked. “You can talk to me telepathically?”

Yes.

Her soft voice whispering so intimately in his mind was shocking. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to allow her to take his blood. He could barely breathe and he damned well couldn’t walk.

You try it. Talk to me.

There’s not much I can say without making a fool of myself. My attraction to you has been unexpected.

“Are you all right, Zev?” Convel called, anger edging his voice.

He should have known his pack would be worried. The moment Branislava had led him into the privacy of the trees, his pack mates must have become anxious that the Carpathians might be ambushing them in some way.

“I’m fine. We were just making certain it worked,” Zev called back. He smiled at Branislava. “Thank you, Miss Branislava, I think we’ll be able to hunt together.”

“I think we will, too,” she said. “My friends and family call me Bronnie.”

He gave her a little salute and strode out of the trees to meet his fellow elite hunters.

Tatijana and Fen joined Branislava the moment he left.

Fen took her hands. “You’re certain you’re up for this, Bronnie? Tatijana and I both gave you every memory we could of the Sange rau and how they fight, how fast they are. Any werewolf will go for your belly every time, and don’t underestimate how high they can leap.”

“I think I’ve been hibernating a long time and I need to jump right into the fray. Right now, I can be of use and I need that, Fen, to help push me to start living. Being a prisoner for so long and trapped in the ice can make one long for what’s familiar to them and certainly that isn’t the best thing for me.”

“Just promise me you’ll be careful,” Fen said. “Nothing can happen to either of you. I can be in the air in seconds and I travel fast. Just call for me.”

“Don’t you dare give yourself away to the Lycans,” Tatijana said. “I mean it, Fen. They’ll turn on you so fast. Mikhail gave Zev something to think about, but not the others. And you can’t count on him for protection. We’ll be fine. We know what to do.”

“Is everything all right?” Zev asked, coming up behind them. “We’re all ready.”

“I’m just making certain they know how the rogue packs work,” Fen said. “I don’t want them to take any chances with their lives.”

“You’re just giving us information,” Zev cautioned the women, adding to Fen’s warnings. “That’s all, just find them and tell us. The Carpathians will transport us if it’s a great distance.”