Connor (9 page)

This was a private residence but it could have been a five star hotel for all its size and opulence. Allie shrunk against his side, unconsciously sucking on her bottom lip, clearly daunted by her surroundings. It pleased him to feel her seeking support from him, whether she was aware that was what she was doing or not.

He took that moment to help her out of her dark coat and hand it to the maid hovering not far away. Colt followed suit by helping his songbird out of her coat. Alyssa was dressed in a gilded, shimmering, floor-length gown that perfectly matched the honey-blonde of her hair. That hair, usually worn in a practical braid down her back, was flowing around her bare shoulders. When he'd left to get Allie, Alyssa had been complaining about the red mark at the base of her neck, claiming it was not fair that men who wore shirts that covered their shoulders never had a mark on them after being bitten, while a woman who had to wear dresses like hers, was always sporting red marks from only partially healed bites.

Colt had selected a lovely, ornate chocker necklace for her to wear with her dress so that its dangling gems hid the evidence of his passion. But knowing what it now felt like to claim a mate, and want the world to know it, he had to wonder if Colt really wanted to hide that mark at all. Maybe the fact that the women didn't heal as well as the men was nature's way of helping a male mark his territory.

He wished he didn't find that thought so appealing. Sometimes he felt he was more beast than man. He'd once told Colt to let his cat have control because they were so much more powerful than their human sides. But Colt had made a valid point to the contrary: Cats didn't want to save the world; and cats didn't organise and work as part of a team to achieve that goal. Those were human traits. Or wolf traits, if they'd been given that DNA instead. But a powerful cat was the better hidden predator than a wolf, so the scientists had known what they were doing when they selected the animal DNA to blend with that of the human.

"Wow, that dress looks spectacular on you, Allie. It never looked that good on me," Alyssa complimented her new sister. He watched the pleased blush darken Allie's olive-skinned cheeks.

That was what he should have said to her. It should have been him bringing that blush to her cheeks. He knew better than to behave the way he was with Allie. He knew better! But somehow all his charm had disappeared as soon as he'd bitten her.

And wasn't that just a feckin' nightmare.

This had been a mistake, Allie decided, as she stared around her at the over-indulgence that surrounded her. Her boss wasn't going to accept their half-assed plan. He would see right through it and then she'd be fired. Not that being fired was the end of the world to her anymore. Her priorities had changed since Cam showed her the overwhelming evidence against these Guild people. What did it matter if she lost her job when her world was on the verge of destruction? She'd had two choices: walk away and continue burying her head in the sand, trying to convince herself that it wasn't her problem; or step up and start to make a difference, and help to do whatever she could to save not only the human race, but their whole freaking planet.

Sure, the first option seemed to have been allowed for by those scientists that created her. She was bred to be a mate to one of the warriors, but she hadn't been expected to join the fight, from everything she'd been told. Her role was simply to breed the next generation of warriors. But Allie wasn't about to sit back and watch from the side-lines. She was no cheerleader. Not back in high school, and certainly not now. If this Résistance was fighting secretly to bring down the cause of their planetary malaise, then she would be Résistance. Maybe she wouldn't be a mate for the Sons, but she could be a Sister to others like her and Alyssa, when they were found.

When Alyssa had complimented her on her dress, she hadn't been able to stop herself glancing at Connor. Would he consider Alyssa's compliment OTT? But the fire she saw in his eyes hadn't been patronising at all. It had been painful and angry. What had she done this time to earn his anger?

Fed up with worrying about his every reaction, she swore she'd never let herself become one of
those
girls she'd always secretly laughed at back in high school. The ones who bent over backwards trying to be the person her boyfriend wanted her to be, always worried how he'd react to a new dress or a new idea she voiced. Turning yourself into a
Stepford Wife
like that was just a formula for disaster. And yet here she was wondering whether her dress was to Connor's liking and whether she'd said or done something to anger him. It was just shit!

So, if that was what being a mate meant, then she'd just have to refuse the honour. It might be okay for Alyssa, who seemed to have Colt wrapped around her little finger, but it wasn't okay for her. Sure, Connor was a great lover. He hadn't just given her her first orgasm during sex, he'd rocked her world. She'd lost count of the times she'd come in one way or another today. But great sex with one of her own species didn't make a mate-bond. Biological necessity could go fuck itself. And so could the monster sharing her body.

Down the grand, curved staircase, a tall, regal-looking woman strolled. At any moment, Allie expected her to give the royal wave at her adoring fans below. Instead, from another room, a young man of about eighteen came forward and offered his hand to the woman. It was such a corny gesture that Allie was forced to bite down on her tongue to stop the snigger from escaping.

"I am Deirdre Rothmen. You must be the guest of honour," the woman gushed in a bored upper-crust voice that only the English could master, "Miss Aimes, you are quite my husband's favourite performer."

Alyssa stepped away from Colt to take the woman's limp fingers. "I am honoured to be asked to perform for you tonight."

"Of course, of course you are. Not every young up-and-coming musician gets a chance like this. Now let me introduce you to my son and then you can get started. Everyone is already here, waiting impatiently to hear you serenade us. Once your performance is over we will have a buffet-style meal and I will introduce you to our guests. Just finger-food, I suppose you might say, as it wasn't meant to be a formal occasion."

The woman gestured impatiently for the young man to come forward. He was tall and gangly, with a slightly elongated skull covered with baby-fine blonde hair she probably wouldn't have noticed had Cam not explained to her the significance of that head. The boy's ancestors had adorned the walls of the temples of Ancient Egypt. They had been so hated by the people that when their reign came to an end their names had been removed from the records and their city of the sun, called Heliopolis, abandoned. Nefertiti was that famous queen and Akhenaton her brother/husband.

And though Allie didn't want to blame this boy for his ancestry, and wanted to feel some empathy for a youth who was so obviously dominated by his mother, all she could manage was an atavistic ambivalence.

"This is Hugo, my son. Hugo, this is that pretty little singer you and your father are so impressed by. I told you that your father could make anything happen. If you want that Angelina person, the one who makes those Tomb Raider video games you're so fond of, to visit us next, just ask your father and he can bring her to you."

Hugo took Alyssa's hand and Allie wondered what she was thinking. From her tight expression, it was hard to know for sure.

Mrs Rothmen led the way into the music room where the rest of the guests had gathered. There were at least twenty people present, and from her reaction to every one of them, they had to all be Guild. Did Alyssa feel like the Christian being thrown to the hungry lions? Because she sure did. When Connor's fingers twined with hers, she felt her confidence gain a much needed boost. No matter who he was to her, she couldn't deny that he had a way about him. In circumstances like these, she felt he'd give up his life for her, protecting her from all harm.

From a nearby cluster of beautifully dressed people, Cam stepped. "Alyssa, my dear, so good of you to come. I know Karl is looking forward to this. He has just stepped out for an important call but should be back by the time you're ready to play. Your equipment has arrived and been set up and tested. All you need to do is a last minute sound check and you can begin."

Alyssa nodded and smiled, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her toward the slightly elevated stage where a chair, amplifier, guitar and microphone-stand had been set up in front of a grand piano.

Drinks in hand, the guests began to make their leisurely way to the rows of seats arranged in front of the stage. Colt stayed at the very back of the room while Connor directed Allie to the far side.

Once the angelic vision in gold had seated herself with the acoustic guitar on her lap, she began aligning the two microphones attached to the stand. The lowest, Allie knew, was designed to capture the sound of the guitar; the upper one, her voice. If the balance wasn't just right, Alyssa's performance would be marred.

So it didn't surprise her to see a young sound technician with a board standing next to the amps set up in the other back corner of the room. This was going to be a surround-sound experience from the looks of it.

Alyssa strummed a few bars and looked at Colt who gave the thumbs up. Connor did the same when she looked at him, and finally the tech nodded his agreement. Next she said a few words into the microphone and tested the levels. Finally she sang and played a brief chorus to check the balance. When everything was given the go-ahead, Alyssa smiled and looked around at her audience.

"Hi, it's good to see so many beautiful, powerful people here tonight. I must admit, it is still sometimes daunting for a kid from suburban Portland, who spent quite a few years singing for her supper on the streets of LA, to be performing in front of audiences such as yourselves. I hope you enjoy my songs, all of which I wrote and can be found on my
Dark Fantasies
Album.

"Some of you might have known a very good friend of mine, Alzhir Akabar, who died so tragically not long ago. It was his belief in me that brings me here tonight. Without him, I might never have found the happiness and purpose I now have in my life. For that I will always be grateful."

If Allie hadn't known what a bastard this Akabar had been, and that it was Alyssa who had helped to bring him down, she would have believed every word the woman said. And reading between the lines, she imagined there was truth in the last part. The Sons had flagged Akabar as a contender for the Inner Sanctum of the Guild and decided the best way to get to him was through his new girlfriend, Alyssa. It seemed like fate that Colt, who had saved Alyssa from a terrible rape four years earlier, should be the one assigned to get close to her. So it was true, had Akabar never taken an interest in Alyssa, the couple might never have met again.

At that moment, an imposing-looking middle-aged man with a balding head of grey hair and a startlingly black moustache and eyebrows, entered the room and took his seat, as if they'd all be waiting on him so the entertainment could start. Alyssa nodded her greeting to the late arrival and began to pick out the melodic introduction to one of her best known songs.

She'd always been addicted to
Star Quality
and watched the show, even when she was in England. So she'd watched Alyssa's rise through the ranks, as if she was a friend. And now, here she was, meeting the woman for real and being called her sister. Things like that didn't happen to people like her.

People like her? She'd have to rethink that belief, in light of what she now knew about herself. What
did
happen to genetically engineered new species of people like her? People who could see in the dark, move faster than the wind and hear better than… dogs? She had super-powers like Wonder Woman now. Who knew what could happen to someone like her?

For song after song, Alyssa wove her magical web around her audience, interspersing each song with a little anecdote that added another dimension to the song she sang. But the last song…
Dark Fantasies
… she didn't talk about. But knowing what Allie now did about how the singer and her lover first met, she understood every word.

What must it be like to love with all your heart and soul like that? To be worthy of being rescued and loved by a hero like Colt? Something inside her ached to know; ached to feel loved like that. To love like that.

Connor was every bit the hero Colt was, she knew. But the intense connection they shared wasn't love. It was chemistry and the procreative urge on overdrive. Love didn't even factor into it. But what
would
it be like to love Connor with everything she had inside her? What
would
it be like to feel loved by him in return? Not because she was his mate, but because something inside her called to something inside him; something that made her not just sexy, but lovable and special to him.

Harshly, she pushed away that yearning. There was nothing lovable and special about her, and someone like Connor was a player who would never give his heart to any woman, especially not someone like her. He might seem playful and gregarious, but there was an invisible wall inside him that he used to keep people out. How did she know? Because she had one too. A wall that had a sign on it that said, 'Stay out, I'm better off alone.' "

She felt tears sting her eyes as the last chord hung magically in the air for far longer than it should. Was that courtesy of the equipment, or was it just an emotional reaction to the power of the song and its singer?

For a moment, when the music finished, there was silence. Then a light smattering of applause broke out. She wanted to clap and whistle and cheer for the girl who had brought her to the brink of tears, so the apathetically polite response from the audience was like a slap in the face. What it must feel like to Alyssa was anyone's guess.

"What's wrong with them? Can't they feel anything?" she muttered under her breath to herself, forgetting Connor could hear her.

"It requires empathy to truly appreciate Alyssa's music. And the Guild has none. All they hear is pretty music played and sung by a pretty girl. No more. You have to feel a little sorry for them. It's like dogs not being able to see rainbows. They miss out on so much."

She couldn't hold back the smile that bubbled to the surface. She was reminded of the analogy of cats and dogs Cam had used earlier in the day. She wondered if cats could see rainbows.

The man with the dark moustache had made his way to the small stage, still clapping politely. When he deemed it enough, he stopped and the audience followed his lead.

"I do apologise for not being here to greet you, Miss Aimes. But I am glad I freed myself in time to hear your lovely voice. I have been a big fan of yours right from Cattle Call at the beginning of the season.
Star Quality
is my guilty pleasure, but I never expected to see such a talent as yours on it. It was criminal that the American public didn't vote for you. Had you performed on a similar program here in the U.K, you would have won by a landslide."

Alyssa smiled and looked dutifully pleased by his compliments. Was Allie imagining it, or was the singer really exhausted?

"Now, if everyone would like to move into the dining room you will find a supper fit for a King, ready to be eaten. There is an ice sculpture depicting
Dark Fantasies
that I hope you will like, Miss Aimes. The sculptor is as talented in his field as you are in yours, so I'm informed. I hope he's done your creation justice."

Colt made his way to the stage to help Alyssa stand. No, she wasn't mistaken. Alyssa was looking drained and somewhat sick, and Colt was having to support her to her feet.

"What's wrong with Alyssa?" she whispered quietly, for Connor's ears alone.

"I don't know. Maybe it's jetlag finally catching up with her. Or maybe it's playing into a void. She explained it to me once. When an audience responds to her music it's like the energy she puts out bounces back at her, two-fold. She's always pumped after a show. But if the audience doesn't respond, then nothing bounces back at her."