Desire Unchained

“It was right afterward that you discovered your sisters, wasn’t it?” Wraith asked, and Runa recognized the attempt to get Shade off the subject of his feelings for her.

“Yeah.” Shade’s voice broke, right along with her heart. “I went back to the cave where I’d left them. They were dead. All but Skulk. If only I hadn’t picked up the starlet, maybe they’d still be alive.”

Hatred rolled off Shade in waves, along with grief so thick she could practically taste it. “Is that why you think you can’t protect females?”

“It wasn’t just them. My mother, too. And then there was Skulk—”

“Stop it,” she said softly. “I blamed myself for my mother’s death for so long, so I know I’m a terrible hypocrite, but none of that was your fault. You did your best. And Shade, you did protect me. You got me out of Roag’s dungeon. You saved me from him just today. And you lifted me out of that that dark place full of guilt over my past. I’ve never felt better. We just have to find a way to cure you of this stupid curse.”

“There is no cure,” Eidolon said. “Not now that he’s fallen … ah … yeah, anyway, there’s no cure. It can be transferred, but only to a loved one.”

Runa felt her hope drain away. Then anger rushed in, and hell no, she wasn’t going to lose him now. There had to be a cure.

“Where’s the phone?”

Shade frowned. “Why?”

“I’m going to call Arik. Maybe the Army can find something you guys missed.”

Wraith snorted. “The United States Army? They couldn’t find their dicks with a whore’s—”

“Wraith,” Eidolon said gently. “We need to take any help we can get.”

Wraith said nothing, but he brought her the phone. She thanked him and turned back to Shade. “Just hold on, okay?”

“I will.” For Runa’s sake he smiled reassuringly, but he had given up hope a long time ago.

God, she wanted to hug him, hold him, make love to him until all of this was forgotten, but she needed to keep her distance. She didn’t want to accelerate the curse. And she definitely didn’t want him to see that she was on the verge of a breakdown.

She dressed quickly in jeans and a tank top and then left the three guys in the bedroom to call Arik from the TV room. She hoped he’d learned something about the Maluncoeur. Pacing the length of the room, she dialed.

Arik answered, but she could barely hear him.

“It’s Runa.”

He replied, but she couldn’t understand him over the static. She moved to the kitchen, where the reception was better, but that made the connection on Arik’s end worse. Finally, she stepped out of the hidden cave door. Better. Not great, but she couldn’t risk moving too far from the entrance.

“How’s this? Can you hear me now?”

“Like a commercial,” Arik said, his breathing harsh and rapid.

“Did I interrupt something?”

“Just my workout.”

The usual. If he wasn’t at the office, he was at the gym. “Look, I have something for you. The Maluncoeur I asked you to investigate? It’s a curse.”

“I know. But that’s about all I know.”

“Apparently, it can be transferred to a loved one, but there’s got to be another way to get rid of it.”

“There’s not a lot of information for me to go on.”

“Do whatever it takes. You’ve got to find out more, and fast. It’s killing Shade. It’s some sort of vengeance curse that causes the victim to fade away if he falls in love.”

“What are you saying?”

The tears that had threatened earlier fell. “I love him.”

“Son of a— He’s a demon, Runa!”

“And I’m a werewolf. No one’s perfect.”

“Not the time for humor, sis.” She heard a thump that sounded suspiciously like a fist hitting a wall. “This is unacceptable. I’m sending a team for you.”

“You are not,” she snapped, and then softened her voice, because getting Arik riled was only going to bring out his hyperprotective, controlling side. “And I don’t want the Army messing with the hospital.”

“That’s not your call. They heal demons there. Our enemies.”

Her blood ran cold. “Sounds like maybe that’s what I’m becoming.”

Arik’s curse burned her ear. “We’ll discuss this later.”

“There’s nothing to discuss. I love Shade.”

“You can’t have it both ways. The military kicks people out for freaking sleepwalking if there’s a danger that they might spill secrets. You think R-XR is going to let you work for them and then go home to a fucking demon?”

“That fucking demon saved your life.”

No doubt Arik didn’t appreciate the reminder. “That doesn’t change the fact that this won’t go over well with command.”

“If they can’t deal with it, that’s their problem.”

“So you’re ready to give up your job, your life, for Shade?”