Dark Wolf (Spirit Wild)

16

“That’s a first.” Eve cocked her head to one side and stared toward the huge tree and the man kneeling beneath it.

“What is?” Lily settled herself comfortably on the grass. Her knees ached. They’d knelt before the Mother for a long time. At least it felt like a long time, though time itself on the astral was often a matter of interpretation.

“Being summarily dismissed by the Mother. Generally, her thoughts just end and she’s gone from my where. Instead, you and I were sent away, but she’s still here. Talking to Sebastian.”

Lily chuckled. “Eve, you sound a bit disgruntled.”

Eve smiled and shook her head. “I know, but trust me, Lily. I take this goddess gig seriously. And though Sebastian is certainly good-looking, he is still a man.”

This time Lily let it go and laughed out loud. After so much stress over the past few weeks, it felt good to sit here on the astral with her dearest friend and relax—at least, relax as much as one could, knowing all hell was breaking loose at home. She focused once again on Sebastian and realized he looked even sexier on his knees, which opened her to all kinds of wicked thoughts. She glanced at Eve. “I wonder what she’s saying to him.”

Eve merely shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t read the Mother’s mind the way I can yours. I’m still surprised that he knows her. It’s not like the Mother is a social being.” Eve glanced at Lily and then focused once again on Sebastian. “It’s a mystery to me, but something unusual must be happening.” Then she sighed, reached into the air, and pulled out a tray of small open-faced sandwiches followed by two glasses of wine.

Lily took one of the crystal goblets and a sandwich and realized she was starving. Time had no meaning here, but her stomach seemed to think otherwise. She had no idea how long she and Eve had knelt in thrall to the Mother as the powerful spirit answered what questions she would before dismissing them to speak alone with Sebastian.

Long enough that they’d probably missed that beautiful rib roast her mom was fixing for dinner. Hopefully there’d be leftovers. Lily took a bite of one of Eve’s sandwiches. “These are good. I didn’t realize how hungry I was. How long have we been here?”

“A couple of hours, as time is counted on the astral, but I’m not really certain how much time has passed in your world. The Mother’s visit can affect the way we experience time.” She shrugged and nibbled on a sandwich. “There’s nothing to be done about that. So what do we know now that we didn’t know before?”

“That the wolves killing those girls aren’t regular Chanku. They’re the Berserkers of Norse legend, shifters who are more wolf than human. They’re bloodthirsty, feral creatures who have, for some reason, aligned themselves with Aldo Xenakis. But the rapist is an unknown human, not one of the shifters.”

Lily stared at her wineglass. “We have to suspect Aldo in the rapes, but why would he do something so awful? And if the Berserkers work for him, he must be directing the murders for some reason. It just doesn’t make sense, but at least we know why the rogue wolves haven’t shown up on your Chanku radar.” She flashed a sympathetic smile at Eve.

“I don’t sense them at all,” Eve said. “The fact there are very few Berserkers left—so few the Mother assumed they were all gone—and because they’re closer to the wolf side of their being than the human side, they just don’t register the way you do. Plus, they’ve historically kept more to themselves, their primary form is the wolf, and when they die, they die as wolves, not humans. It’s frustrating, not to be able to sense them.”

“Do you sense Sebastian?” Lily watched him, still kneeling beneath the tree.

Eve shook her head. “No. His magic is too strong. It hides his nature.”

Nodding, still studying Sebastian, Lily wondered about the unknown rapist. She hated to think it was his father. Goddess, that was too awful to contemplate. She glanced at Eve. “We can thank the US government, or at least one of the more clandestine branches of the military, for rediscovering the Berserkers, I imagine. Maybe they were already soldiers, if fighting and killing are basic to their nature. But how did Aldo Xenakis get control of them?”

“I don’t know. The Mother was aware of the tests and the fact some unusual Chanku had been discovered, but when they turned out to be so unpredictable and dangerous, she no longer sensed them and thought they’d all been destroyed.”

Lily shuddered. “I hate that. Destroyed, like they were vicious animals.”

Eve touched her hand. “Lily, in effect, that’s exactly what they were. What they are. Creatures that are more feral than human, even when they take human form. Intelligent creatures with no sense of conscience. They were bred as a warrior class on the Chanku home world and were among the first to strike out on their own after landing on Earth.”

“From the way the Mother described it, it sounds more like they were banished. As far as I know, none have turned up in the general population. Of course, very few regular Chanku have been found. I wonder why the rogues weren’t discovered before now?”

This was so frustrating. The Mother had offered just enough information to make her crazy. If the rogue wolves were Chanku, even if they were of a more violent subspecies, some of them should have taken the nutrients among the general population. Those capsules had been made available to anyone who wanted to see if they carried the Chanku genes, and yet none of the newly discovered Chanku had been anything at all like the wolves that had attacked her and Sebastian or the ones that had gone after Annie and Alex. Those creatures were so much larger, their size alone would have been noted.

And how was it that Aldo Xenakis appeared to have at least half a dozen of the creatures under his command? Were these the only Berserkers in existence?

They’d asked, but the Mother hadn’t answered. No, she’d wanted time with Sebastian. Time alone with Sebastian.

He still knelt, unmoving while in communion with the Mother. She was all-powerful, and yet she’d explained that she couldn’t control what her creatures did, that their free will was stronger than her ability to affect their behavior.

Lily had a feeling she was really good at nudging things to go her way, though. And she wondered why the Mother had chosen to nudge Sebastian. “Sebastian learned to shift by drawing power from the spirit in a huge oak on a ridge that straddles the line between our property and his father’s.” She glanced at Eve. “He thought it was a dryad, but it sounds as if he’s been talking with the Mother all along, if she’s the lady of the oak he’s told me about.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Eve shook her head and nibbled on another sandwich. “She’s the Mother, the one over all people in all worlds. Why would she spend time with a single young wizard?”

Lily grinned and took another swallow of wine. “Well, he’s a very sexy young wizard, and the Mother is female, after all.”

Eve practically sputtered. “Oh, Lily,” she said, holding her hand over her mouth. “That’s got to be sacrilegious.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “I think I’m teasing, Eve.” She glanced toward Sebastian, saw him bow his head, and then slowly stand, as if his joints were stiff from being on his knees for so long. He smiled at Lily, paused, turned back to the tree, and stepped up close. He pressed his hand against the rough bark and then nodded, as if in conversation. Then he spun away and walked toward Eve and Lily.

Halfway to them, he stopped. The air shimmered. Lily’s father practically exploded onto the astral.

“Lily! Sebastian, you have to come with me. Annie’s been taken by the rogues. Alex is certain Aldo’s behind it. If it’s him, I’m going to need your magic to help me get her back.”

Eve lunged to her feet. “I’ll be with you. Call on me when you need my strength.” She paused a moment, glanced toward the tree, and bowed her head. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Lily, go now. Both of you go with your father. The Mother is staying close. She’s promised to help where she can.”

Lily grabbed Eve for a quick hug, took hold of Sebastian’s arm with her right hand, and grabbed her father’s with her left. No need of a portal when three mages combined their power.

With little more than a wink and a spell, they stepped back into the cavern beneath the house. Anton raced toward the exit tunnel. “Hurry!”

“Dad! What happened?” Lily ran after him, across the large cavern, through the tunnel to the underground pantry, and up the stairs to the kitchen.

Sebastian pounded up the stairs behind her.

Anton didn’t slow down a bit, but his thoughts filled Lily’s head. When Sebastian grabbed her hand, she knew he heard as well. Annie, Xandi, Lisa, and your mom were driving to town. They took Mom’s car. It was rigged with a gas canister hidden inside. It exploded as they pulled off the driveway onto the main road.

Is Mom okay?

Everyone is fine except for Annie. Mom was still driving, losing consciousness from the gas. The car went off the road, but she saw four huge men grab Annie and stuff her in a sack. She’s sure they were Chanku, and she heard them talking about a sacrifice. Alex has gone to the oak that straddles the property line. He thinks Aldo plans to kill Annie there. If Aldo’s using death magic, if he’s recently killed, he could be stronger than all of us. I need your help. Sebastian? Are you willing to work against your father?

They’d reached the kitchen. Sebastian grabbed Anton’s shoulder to stop him. Then he held out his hand. “I will back you in any way I can. You have my word on that.”

Anton shook his outstretched hand. “Good. I figured we could count on you. Lily, I’ll gather the pack in the big meadow. I hate to ask you to do this, but I want you and Sebastian to go up on the mountain. Alex is already there. He said it looks like they’re setting up for some spell work, but he hasn’t been able to connect with Annie yet. We can’t do anything until we know where she is. Tinker and Stefan are with Alex. My plan is to use the pack to build energy for you and Sebastian to channel.”

He grabbed Lily’s shoulders and stared directly into her eyes, but he spoke aloud. “It would be easier if you and Sebastian were bonded, but even without that, the two of you are already more powerful than I can ever hope to be. Find a way to work together. Your combined magic along with what we can send to you should be much stronger than Aldo’s.”

Lily nodded, shocked her father would even mention bonding. Did he approve that strongly of Sebastian? She had no doubts. Not anymore. Even the Mother had given him a blessing of sorts, communing with him for so long.

She forced herself back to what her father was saying. The two of them had done this before, taking energy from the pack, working it between them. Together they could manipulate energy better than Anton could alone, but she’d never done it without him. Sebastian was a powerful mage, in some ways, even stronger than her father, though Sebastian’s magic was instinctive. He lacked training, beyond what her dad had given him earlier today.

Would that be enough? One day’s training to fight a wizard with a lifetime of dark magic behind him? It had to be, though she couldn’t help but think how much stronger they would be were they to mate. But they couldn’t. Not like this. Even the threat hanging over them wasn’t worth forcing such a commitment on Sebastian.

But damn it all, what was Aldo Xenakis trying to do? She clutched Sebastian’s arm and tugged him to face her. “Sebastian, what is your father’s goal? Do you have any idea what he thinks he can gain by doing this? What will a human sacrifice do for him? He’s got to be losing his mind, to think he can get away with this.”

Sebastian just shook his head. “I have no idea, Lil. All I can think is, the man must be insane. He’s always wanted more power, but this is beyond extreme. None of it makes sense.”

“Crap. The timing does.” Anton turned and raced down the hall toward the den with Lily and Sebastian right behind him. “Tonight’s the full moon. Why didn’t I realize how much greater the risk would be tonight?”

He paused in the doorway and glanced over his shoulder. “I notified the sheriff’s department a while ago, told them there’d been a kidnapping of one of our pack, but that Alex was looking into it. They allow us to police ourselves whenever possible, and I don’t want innocent deputies hurt. Your father’s an unknown as far as how much power he’s amassed with the killings, but I wanted you to know we’re hoping to handle this on our own.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, dislodging the tie holding it back from his face. Lily rarely saw him distraught.

“Hell.” He shot a quick look at Sebastian. “I don’t know anything at all about your father’s magic. Blood magic, much less human sacrifice is way out of my league.” He hit a switch on a large console next to his desk.

A map came up and lights went on all across the screen—the various households scattered around the property and beyond. He placed his hand on a sensor on a control panel at the bottom. His powerful voice sounded in Lily’s mind, and she knew that every member of the pack, no matter how far away they might be, would hear his request.

Annie McClintock has been kidnapped. If you’re able, please meet me in the meadow behind the main house. We need pack energy to defeat the one who has her. Be there by eleven tonight.

He swung around and took a quick glance out the window before focusing on Lily. “I wish I could go with you, but I believe I can better serve you here. Be careful.” He turned to Sebastian. “Keep my daughter safe, and yourself as well. You’re a good man, Sebastian Xenakis, and you are a powerful mage, but you are a man grown, not your father’s son. Remember that.”

Sebastian gave a short, sharp nod. “When’s the moon going to be full and directly overhead?”

“At eleven thirty-five.” Her dad ran his fingers over the screen and drew up a schematic of the night sky. “It will pass over the top of the mountain southeast of the oak at approximately eleven eighteen, but it’s not officially full until eleven thirty-five. If he’s working blood magic, I imagine he’ll time the climax of his spell accordingly.” He glanced at the clock on the wall over the desk. “It’s almost ten. It’s a good half hour on four legs from here to the oak. Get something to eat. I think Mom left plenty of leftover roast in the refrigerator for you. It’s cold, but you’ll need fuel for what you have to do tonight.”

He stopped, gazed steadily at Lily, and then drew her into a hug. “Damn, sweetheart. I hate sending you up there. I hate it.”

“Dad? We’ll be okay.” She hugged him just as tight.

“I know you will, baby. I’m worried about you and worried sick about Annie and Alex. They mated today. They’re bonded. If anything happens to either of them ... ”

“Oh, Goddess.” She pulled away and stared at her father. His amber eyes glittered—tears of rage and compassion for a young man who was as much a son to him as either of his own boys. “I am so glad they’ve mated, but you’re right. We have to go.”

Her father suddenly looked away with the deep concentration that meant someone had contacted him. Lily grabbed Sebastian’s hand and tried not to think of what Annie and Alex were going through right now. And Alex mated! She wanted to cheer, but at the same time, their new bond had to make this even harder for both Annie and Alex.

Sebastian wrapped an arm around her and held her close. Lily leaned against his side and hugged him back. “Let’s go get something to eat. Dad’s right. We need fuel. He’ll tell us if he’s learning something we need to know.”

“Okay. Lily, we haven’t had time to talk.”

She tugged his hand, pulling him toward the kitchen. “About the Mother?”

He nodded. “She’s the spirit of the tree. She’s been giving me the power to shift, helping my magic, though until I can do it on my own, she can’t be certain I’m Chanku.”

“Even the Mother doesn’t know?”

He shook his head. “No. And in my case, she said my magic is so strong that it affects her ability to read me. I need to keep taking the capsules. The nutrients will override my magic and allow me to shift naturally, if that’s my heritage.”

Anton caught up to them halfway to the kitchen. “Hurry. Eat something and get up on the ridge. That was Alex. He said there are twelve rogues up there now. He didn’t expect that many, and there could be even more, but he’s staying hidden. Tinker and Stefan are with him. There’s no word yet from Annie. We’re hoping she’s merely unconscious and can’t mindspeak. Hurry.”


Sebastian felt as if they were doing a major disservice to Keisha’s rib roast, but he and Lily cut huge slabs of the leftover beef and literally choked it down.

How could any woman look so beautiful, holding on to a bloody rib bone with both hands and gnawing at the rare meat still attached? He loved her. There was no doubt, not after this past day when he knew his life had forever changed. He’d not only made love with Lily, but traveled on the astral plane and communed with a goddess and a spirit even more powerful, and yet making love with Lily was still the most life-altering part of his day.

That and his connection with Alex. He’d filed that experience away for a time when he could truly analyze what had happened, but he hoped like hell it happened again. He’d never connected with another man like that—such a soul-deep sense of something so close to love it was almost scary. His emotions were all over the map, except when he thought of Lily.

Lily grounded him. She gave him hope and a sense of peace he’d never known before. So many changes in his life, all in just the last three days. Lily. Alex. Anton and Keisha. The goddess Eve. Meeting the spiritual Mother who presided over all of them, discovering she was the same spirit he’d known for these past months as the lady of the tree.

The spirit he’d felt so close to on the ridge above was so much more than a mere dryad. The Mother was a feminine spirit of absolute power.

Almost absolute power. She still couldn’t tell him what he was. He spotted a jar of Anton’s capsules on the kitchen counter and leaned his chair back far enough to reach for it. Lily raised her eyes to his when he popped two of the big green pills into his mouth and swallowed them down with a glass of water.

He shrugged. “Time’s different on the astral, remember?” Then he chuckled as he grabbed his empty plate and carried it to the sink. “I felt like I was on my knees for at least two days.”

Lily cleared her dishes as well, rinsed everything, and stuck the plates and utensils in the dishwasher while Sebastian wrapped up the roast and put it back in the refrigerator. When he turned around, she was watching him.

“What did you talk about?”

He shook his head. “We didn’t talk. In fact, I didn’t do any talking at all. She said there were things I would need to know and she would give them to me. I stayed on my knees in absolute silence, absorbing whatever it was she gave me. And no, I have no idea what I know now that I didn’t before. It was really weird.”

Stepping close, Lily pressed her fingers against his chest. “Trust her, Sebastian. She really does watch over us, usually through Eve, though. The Mother has never openly intervened before, at least not in any way we’ve known.”

“I think she did some intervening today, though I have no idea how or what she did.” He wiped his hands off on a paper towel and tossed it in the trash. “C’mon. We need to go. I want to get up to the ridge before anything happens to Annie. I can’t imagine what Alex is going through. If he loves her as much as I love you . . .”

“Sebastian?” Lily paused and then turned. “Do you truly love me? Because I keep thinking about what Dad said, that mating could strengthen us even more.”

He stepped close and wrapped his arms around her waist, and realized she still wore the yoga pants and crop top from this morning. So damned much had happened since they’d left her little cottage. “The mating bond? The permanent link you told me about?”

Lily nodded.

Sebastian wanted to shout to the heavens. Could she possibly love him enough to commit herself to him forever? But what if he wasn’t Chanku? He said as much.

Lily shook her head. “If you’re not Chanku, the bond won’t work. But if you are, it’s forever. Do you think you can love me that much, Sebastian? Enough to tie yourself to me for the rest of your life? And believe me, if you are Chanku, it’s a long life.”

“That’s all I’ve thought about Lily. I said as much to the Mother. That’s when she asked me to stay behind.”

“Then she must approve. It’s almost ten thirty. We need to go.”

She paused and got that faraway look that told him she was communicating with someone. “I told Dad we’re leaving. He said pack members are already showing up. Some of the bigger guys will meet us up on the ridge, but they’re going through the caves and that takes a little longer. Unless your father has lookouts posted within the cave system, it will allow more of us to get to the site without detection.”

“Good. But, Lily?”

She stopped in the doorway and looked over her shoulder, and all he could think of was taking her as his mate. Not the reason why, that it would strengthen their magic, but because he loved her and he didn’t want to ever risk losing her.

“What?”

“He’s not my father. Not anymore. He’s Aldo Xenakis, a crazy-sick bastard who needs to be taken down.”

She flashed him a huge grin. “Gotcha. So . . . let’s go take him down, okay?”

He followed her out onto the deck and stripped off his clothing as quickly as she removed hers. This time, he called directly on the Mother for the power to shift. He felt her energy pour through him, over him, and become a part of him. Within seconds they were both leaping off the deck and cutting across the big meadow. Wolves were arriving from all directions, and though he didn’t know them, he sensed their common goal. Their power would be his tonight. More power than he’d ever wielded in his life.

He thought of his first attempts at magic, how he’d envied his father’s magic and wanted that kind of power. How he’d considered the ethics of blood magic, found them wanting, and yet had skirted a fine edge before choosing good over evil. He’d come close, but he hadn’t succumbed to the darkness, and it was Lily who had made him see the light.

Quite literally.

He couldn’t help but think of what Lily had told him, how the power from a blood sacrifice was finite, that it was strong at first, but when it was gone, it was gone forever.

The power he and Lily would be working tonight was fueled by love. He saw it firsthand, here in this huge meadow bathed in the soft light shimmering from gaslight lamps along the deck stretching across the back of Anton Cheval’s lovely home. Saw it in the dozens of wolves converging here as he and Lily raced beyond them and into the dark forest.

The sky glowed in the east where the moon would soon crest the highest peaks, but for now, the two of them ran in darkness. Ran knowing Annie’s life depended on their speed and their ability to work together.

He’d never felt stronger. Never known such a sense of purpose as they climbed the mountain, heading toward the huge oak where he’d first communed with the Mother, thinking her nothing more than a simple dryad, a tree nymph. She was so much more. Would she be there tonight? Would she be forced to bear witness to the murder of one of her beloved Chanku?

Not if he and Lily had anything to do about it.

They were almost to the ridge when Lily took a quick jog off the trail and raced through a thick tangle of bracken fern. He followed, trusting her. She knew these trails better than he ever could. She’d grown up here, hunted here, and made love here.

And then she was pausing in the quiet darkness, a shadow among shadows, yet still a perfect visual in amazing contrast through wolven eyes. Her ears perked forward. Are you sure?

Heart pounding, he stepped closer. Here? Now?

She blinked. A slow lowering of lashes over amber eyes. Yes.

Desire surged. Not the carnal lusts of a man knowing he was about to score, but an arousal of heart, mind, soul, and body, so deep, so pure, he trembled. More certain than I’ve been of anything in my life. I love you, Lily, and we will bond. If not now, at another date, but you are mine. If the bond will help us save Annie, knowing we’re going to do it anyway, I say we do it now. Ceremony isn’t needed. Not for my promise to you. It will be as strong tonight as tomorrow. As strong tomorrow as an eternity from now.

Agreed. I love you, Sebastian. And I pray to the goddess and the Mother that this bond is true, that you are the man I think you are. I believe you to be Chanku.

Chanku or not, Lily Milina Cheval, you are mine. You will always be mine. I love you. Life would not be worth living without you. This bond will be true, and it will be forever.

There was no time for the romance he felt in his heart, for the words he wanted to say. These short vows they’d just made would have to suffice, but he had no doubt in his mind or his heart. No concern that this might not be the right choice.

It was the only choice, and he wanted it with all his heart.


Over the years, Lily had tried to imagine this moment with Alex, but she’d never been able to picture the two of them together, Alex mounting her as a wolf, bonding with her forever.

The whole idea just made both of them laugh.

She saw it so clearly with Sebastian. Knew in her heart that the ancient ones would agree this was a man who would meet her, challenge for challenge for the rest of their days.

But they had so little time, and as much as she loved him, she had to recognize that this was also a means to an end. Romance would come later, once Annie was safe. But when she glanced over her shoulder and caught the intent look in those unusual teal blue eyes of his, she knew he saw this moment, beyond their mating, as more than part of a plan to rescue Annie.

She had the strangest feeling Sebastian believed he was also rescuing himself. His paw brushed her shoulder, and she turned her back to him, raised her tail, and cocked it to one side. His powerful front legs grasped her back, and her legs shook beneath his weight. He was a huge wolf. Not as large as the rogues, but still big, and all she could think was the fact he was a fitting mate for the daughter of Anton Cheval.

She’d been raised like a princess. She knew she was far from royalty, but she’d been blessed by the goddess and by the Mother with exceptional abilities, with beauty and a powerful mind, and magic that had surpassed even her father’s years ago.

And always, there had been love. Her parents, Alex, the rest of the pack. A life steeped in love, yet it paled beside what she felt for this man, from this man, a man who’d grown up without family, without the support of the pack.

He was an amazing individual. A strong and honorable man. She could only wonder how much more amazing he would be when he had the power of the pack behind him.

He tightened his grasp on her body, and she felt the first thrust of his wolven cock. She opened to him, ripe for invasion, for this feminine subjugation to the stronger male. She, a woman who had bowed her head to no man, felt him slide deep, felt the stretch of muscles never before tried. Without hesitation, she bowed her head, planted her paws, and braced herself to take him.

His rapid thrusts shot deep and hard, entirely unlike a human mating, yet all were sensations that felt perfect in this form. Understood and expected, yet entirely new—the thick slide of his sharp penis, then the fullness of his mating knot slipping past her vaginal lips, swelling deep inside.

Tying her to him. For now and with the grace of the goddess, forever.

She opened to him, anxious to see what he thought of this amazing experience, and their link clicked into place. Not a simple melding of minds, but something so powerful, so complete, it left her reeling.

She anchored herself in his brilliant mind, saw herself through Sebastian’s eyes, and was astounded by the strength of his love, the depth of his feelings.

And she knew he saw the same in her. Knew so much more than she’d ever imagined. He was an open book to her—his fears, his hopes, and his desire to be what she needed. She saw his frustration over the father he’d hoped to find, and his disgust with the one he’d found. She realized his life had been one disappointment after another. Until now.

Now he saw his world as one filled with possibilities. He’d always had so much love to give, but there’d never been anyone there for him. Not even his mother who had lived in fear of the monster she’d married—so much fear, she’d been unable to love her only child as fully as he’d deserved.

Sebastian’s memories, his history, his hopes and dreams and fears were Lily’s, but with everything pouring into her mind, she held on to his love. Unblemished and pure, it was all for her.

Time seemed to stand still, but in the back of her mind was the knowledge that Annie needed them, that Alex waited for them, and after what felt like forever but probably lasted mere minutes, Lily slowly allowed her side of the link to fade.

Sebastian did the same, slipping out of her innermost thoughts, though the link didn’t close entirely. They were truly bonded. Finally she understood what her parents had found with one another.

She’d never felt a link so close, had never known such a feeling of satisfaction, of pure, unadulterated love. Sebastian’s love. She shifted, becoming human as quickly as Sebastian, and they lay there in the damp grass, staring at one another in the darkness.

A tiny sliver of moonlight reflected off his fascinating teal blue eyes, and the magnitude of their bonding was swamped by that stark reminder of the mission ahead of them. “The moon is rising over the ridge,” she said.

Sebastian nodded. “We need to hurry.”

She stood and gazed about her to get her bearings, but Sebastian was behind her, wrapping his big arms around her body, and kissing the side of her neck. “We have time. We’re not that far from the site,” he whispered. “Goddess, Lily. That was amazing. I was with you when you met the Ancient Ones. I know the Chanku history, just as they gave it to you. You have lived such an amazing life, it will take me months to assimilate all I’ve learned.”

He kissed her lips, sliding softly over her mouth, and his mind was open to hers, his thoughts cascading through her mind in a rainbow of images. His dreams for the two of them, for the children he hoped to have one day. His own family to love. “I’m so sorry we had to rush. I promise to make it up to you.”

She turned in his arms and kissed him hard and fast before whispering against his lips. “You’re damned right you’ll make it up to me. We’ve got a job to do, but I’m holding you to your promise, big guy. I love you, and right now you know me better than I know myself. Just as I know you, but when it comes to this ridge, I think you’re more familiar with the area than I am. What’s next?”

“Link with Alex. Find out if he’s heard from Annie. I’ll concentrate on Aldo. But, Lily? Be careful. He’s a dangerous man, and I don’t know anything at all about the rogues, what kind of control he’s got over them. They’re not quite human, even when they look human.”

She nodded and hugged him again. It was so hard not to touch him with the link still buzzing between them like an electrical charge, with arousal and desire and just plain old lust a living, breathing entity, but this was not the time. Then, just at the moment she prepared to shift, Alex’s voice popped into her head.

Lily. I see her! Rogues are carrying Annie out. She’s alive, but she’s not in my head. I can’t contact her. I don’t know what . . . shit! They’re tying her to the oak. Hurry, Lily. I don’t think we have much time.