From the Ashes (Force of Nature Book 1) (16 page)

“So why is it you're headed to the infirmary then?”

“I need something.”

I could see that getting answers from him while descending the stairs was going to prove futile, so I shut my mouth and poured on speed, catching up to him as he reached the final landing. As he reached for the door to the main corridor, I clamped my hand down upon his.

“Merc,” I said, still breathing heavily, “please. There's already so much mystery surrounding tonight. All I want to know is what is going on with you. Just you. Please, give me that much.”

He stared at me, his masked expression from when I first met him taking over his countenance.

“My wound is of the magical variety. It must be cleansed if it is to heal.”

“Was it the warlocks?” I pressed, not liking any of the potential scenarios playing out through my mind. If it was indeed them, then Reinhardt had gone back on his word, and the war had begun.

“I have told you already that I am not at liberty to discuss such matters,” he said curtly, turning the knob and opening the door while forcing my hand off of his.

“Fine, but I'm coming with you. I want to make sure you're okay.”

“And what will you do for me if I'm not, Piper? Will you heal me? Use your powers to remedy all that ails me?” he queried, a notable heat tainting his words. “I have survived for centuries without your help. I will continue to survive without it.”

Unlike earlier that night, I felt the true anger that coursed through him. He was more than on edge. More than irritable. He was pissed off.

And it appeared that he was pissed off at me.

“Wow,” I said quietly. “Please, don't hold back. Tell me how you really feel.” It seemed that he wasn't the only one who was angry.

My reply did little to improve his mood.

“You mock me?” He was fuming as he stormed toward me. I suddenly realized just how alone and isolated we were. Stories' worth of ground separated us from the rest of the enforcers. And even if Doc had been down there, she was hardly a match for Merc.

“No, I—”

“You will shut your mouth and go upstairs, that is what you will do. And you will do it now.” I stood in place, my body trembling with an undercurrent of fear. This was the man I had been warned against. The man that until now I had not born witness to. When I didn't move, he leaned in close to my face, the fury in his eyes impossible to ignore. “Are you intentionally defying me?”

“No,” I whispered, my voice quivering. Before he could say anything else, I turned and ran to the door, flying up the staircase two steps at a time. By the time I reached the main floor of the house, my heart pounded in my chest so loudly that the sound of it was all I could hear. The pulsing in my ears was deafening.

I tried my best to compose myself as I made my way to the grand staircase, and ultimately my old bedroom. I needed space. I needed to think. If Merc's behavior was a result of my blood in his system, then it was certain that he could never feed from me again. That was an easy enough variable to rule in or out. My concern was that it wouldn't work.

And if it didn't, what that meant for me, Merc, and our bond.

* * *

He found me later, sitting in the middle of my king-sized bed, lost deep in thought. He had the good form to look contrite when he entered the room, hovering near the door that he'd delicately closed behind him.

“Piper, I—”

“You can't drink from me again. You need to find someone else to feed from.”

Genuine surprise flashed across his face, as though my outburst was not at all what he'd been expecting when he’d entered my room.

“Why have you come to this conclusion?” he asked, leaning back against the heavy wooden barricade.

“I didn't. Jase did. I'm just agreeing with him.”

“And why has he suggested this?”

“Your behavior. It's...
off
somehow. This is not the you that I've known. This is the you I was cautioned against.”

He sighed heavily, squeezing his head between his thumb and index finger.

“I'm sorry, Piper. In truth, I haven't felt myself at all today. Perhaps Jase is right. Perhaps there is something about your blood that is negatively affecting me.”

When he released his temples, he brought his gaze up to meet mine, the two of us just silently staring at one another for what seemed like an eternity. I longed to understand what was going through his complicated mind. I prayed that it wasn't breaking.

“You scared me,” I whispered nervously, uncertain how he'd respond to that admission.

Seeing me physically tense when he stepped toward me, his expression fell to one of sadness.

“I'm so sorry, Piper. I would never hurt you. You must know this. I need you to know this...”

“That's what I've been told—that our bond somehow insulates me from certain emotions and behaviors—but after tonight, I'm just not sure,” I admitted a little more freely. “I thought you were going to hit me in the basement.

He visibly flinched at my words.

“I admit that I cannot account for the anger that overtook me downstairs. I think that perhaps you and I should stay in separate spaces until your blood no longer courses through my veins,” he said, an uncharacteristic softness to his reply. “I will speak to Jase about this and see what he thinks. His insight into serious matters is usually beyond reproach. I hope it is in this matter as well.” He turned to leave, his hand resting on the doorknob for a beat before he twisted it and opened the door. “Please believe me when I tell you that I have never felt about another the way I feel about you, Piper.” His sad eyes gazed over his shoulder, reinforcing his sentiment. “I love you.”

With that, he exited my room, softly closing the door behind him, leaving me to my chosen isolation. Isolation from him that would last for the next couple days while we allowed his body to burn up the blood I had given him. I nervously awaited the results of our experiment.

* * *

“Piper?” Kat called from outside my room, peeking her head in immediately afterward. She never was a big fan of waiting to be let in.

“Yeah, Kat? What's up?”

“How are you doing?”

“Fine, I guess,” I shrugged, climbing out of bed.

“We should get you outside today. Want to go for a run?”

“With you?” I asked incredulously. “You know I can't keep up.”

“I'll jog. I promise. No speeding.”

“The last time you said that, a squirrel ran past us and you took off. You didn't come back for thirty minutes!”

It was her turn to shrug.

“I am what I am, what can I say?”

“Okay, Popeye. I'll get geared up and meet you downstairs.”

She started toward my bedroom door, stopping just short of it.

“It's going to be all right, Piper.” Her statement caught me completely off guard. It was rare for Kat to show emotions, at least any with depth to them. She was generally more of the sarcastic type with a wicked protective edge to her. Solemn was new for her as far as I was concerned. “Things were a little rocky for Jensen and me in the beginning. I know that it's considered a bit taboo for the races to mix, but I think there's a deeper reason behind it.”

“You don't think we blend well.”

She gave a wan smile.

“I think that where vampires are concerned, things are inherently more complicated,” she explained with a sigh. “Jensen took a while to get used to my blood. To this day he doesn’t feed solely on it.”

“Oh,” I said softly. “So you think Merc will be okay?”

“I hope so.”

When her expression started to harden, I quickly read between the lines. She hoped so because the alternative was one that I wouldn't like. Or maybe I wouldn't survive. I never did ask her to expand on her response and she never offered to. Instead, the two of us went for a run in the woods on the property. We strode alongside one another in companionable silence, letting nature be the soundtrack to our jog. Just being in the fresh air helped calm my soul. Set my mind at ease.

By the time we returned to the mansion, the sun was setting, dipping down behind the peaks of the surrounding pine trees.

“I need to go...you know,” Kat said with an awkward jerk of her head back toward the trees.

“Haven't gotten furry in a while, eh?” I teased, stretching my legs.

“I've been busy. You good on your own?”

“I'll be fine. Don't worry about me.”

She scrutinized me for a moment, then sped off, disappearing into the tree line that encircled the property. I remained outside to watch the sun fully set, absorbing its final glow before it too disappeared. Then I made my way into the mansion to wait out the final hours of Merc’s and my separation. Soon we would know if all was well.

Soon we would know if all was doomed.

* * *

I wasn't aware that I'd fallen asleep in the movie room until a large hand on my shoulder gently jostled me awake.

“Should I assume this particular film isn't worth watching?” Merc asked as he sat down on the edge of the couch just in front of my outstretched body.

“Hey,” I said, my voice heavy with sleep. Rubbing my eyes to coax them open, I sat up beside him. “Sooooo...how are you feeling?” The trepidation in my tone was apparent, especially when combined with my cautious expression.

An honest-to-God smile spread across his face. I swear I even saw a twinkle in his eye.

“Like myself,” he declared, leaning in to kiss me. “Possibly even better.”

“So it was my blood?” I pressed, needing to actually hear him say it to know it was true. To know that the whole ordeal was over.

“It was your blood.” I sprang to my knees and threw my arms around him, practically choking him (not that he needed to breathe) with my tight grip. He laughed in response, my antics amusing him, as they often seemed to. “From here on out, it should be smooth sailing, as they say.”

“I'll take that,” I said, my face buried so deep in his neck that my words were nearly unintelligible.

“I'm glad.”

I felt his arms wrap around my back, pulling me even closer to him, as if that were physically possible. As it was, I was practically inside him given how I'd pressed myself against him. The relief I felt was indescribable. Things weren't over before they had begun, as I'd feared they would be. He and I could still have a life together.

An eternity as one.

When I finally felt like I no longer had to cling to him for dear life, I relaxed back from him a bit, still sitting in his lap. We'd just overcome a massive hurdle—one that had threatened to undo us—but there was another still present, and this one would not be so easily circumvented.

“So now that we have that cleared up, I'd like to move on to the second order of business,” I started, trying to keep my tone light to belie my growing unease regarding the war that appeared to have started.

“And what would that be?” he asked, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear. The gentle gesture sent chills down my spine, derailing my train of thought momentarily. I had to literally shake my head to get myself focused.

“Let me preface what I'm about to say with this: I understand that you can't freely discuss matters directly relating to your duties. I get that. You made that point
very
clear the other night.” I hadn't meant anything by my last comment, but the flinch of Merc's eyes when I delivered it made me feel awful. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like—”

“What I said,” he started, exhaling heavily, “it was not entirely true. I should not divulge certain things to you, that much is accurate, but I need not keep you completely in the dark either. Ask me what you want to know. I will answer your questions to the degree that I am allowed.”

“Okay,” I said with a tight smile. “Has it started? The war? I mean...how bad are things?”

His lips pressed together tightly in response.

“It has not yet begun, but it is no longer a question of if, but when the treaty will fall.”

“Shit,” I uttered under my breath.

“You need not worry. That war will never reach you,” he declared, taking my face gently in his hands. “Harm will not befall you. I swear it.”

“And you?” I asked, my throat tightening around my words as I spoke.

“It will not befall me either.” I wanted to question him more, ask how he could guarantee such a thing, but the intensity in his cold blue eyes made me think better of it. He meant what he said. He would stop at nothing to survive to ensure that I would too. It was a gesture so pure in a supernatural life that was anything but. I felt overrun by emotion at the thought. “I mean it, Piper,” he continued, seeing the tears escape my eyes. He wiped them away before he leaned in close, kissing me softly at first. Then the fear and uncertainty of the past few days drove us to a frantic pace, each clambering up the other to get a better hold. He finally landed on top of me, pressing me deep into the cushions of the couch, his weight drawing a groan from the springs underneath us.

Oddly, it made me laugh.