Of Flame and Promise (2 page)

Regardless of what Gemini said about not being obliged by his pack to breed with another
were,
with the war being what it was, that could all change. And where would that leave me? Like Aric, Gemini would have to obey his Elders, no matter who it crushed.

I ran my fingers through my hair. All this mating and marriage talk scared me. Like literally left me shaking, because I saw what happened when it didn’t work out. Lord Almighty, hadn’t I hurt enough?

And yet as much as it frightened me and made me want to pull away, I wasn’t blind to what it meant to him. “How would you do it, exactly? How would you claim me?”

Gemini’s eyes smoldered, causing my head to snap back.
Whoa, baby.
He lifted my chin and kissed me with so much heat, the points of my breasts saluted him. I just about jumped up and straddled him again. But that wasn’t what he wanted.

“During our lovemaking, I’ll ask to have you, and give myself to you in return,” he said. “Before we finish, I’ll proclaim you as mine.”

It didn’t sound too complicated. In fact, it sounded kind of hot. Still, my defenses rushed to the surface to protect me, like I’d conditioned them to. “What if it doesn’t work?”
And all this isn’t real,
I don’t add.

“The only time a claim fails is when a
were
tries it on someone who’s not truly his or her mate,” he patiently explained. “A claim won’t work if there’s someone else I’m meant to love more.”

“So it’s possible, right?” My voice trails. “That I may not be the one?”

Gemini pulled away, chuckling, and reached for his shorts. He slipped them on and shook out his slacks, all the while smiling at me. Well, at least someone was sure of himself. “My wolves and I recognized you as ours from the first moment we saw you,” he said, like it was obvious. “Or have you forgotten our initial attraction?”

How could I forget that? The first night I met Gem, I was completely entranced by him. I thought initially that he was pulling some kind of wolf mojo on me. I could barely speak and I couldn’t stop myself from staring at those ever-watchful eyes. Sparks from my own magic literally flew and at one point, I felt like I was having some sort of mystical climax.

“No.” I lowered my head and flicked my long nails. “I remember.”

He finished dressing as he watched me. This time, he knew I was the one requiring a serious moment. I thought I should shower, dress, or something to maybe stretch out the time I needed. But the minute I glanced up, his strong arms embraced me. “You’re afraid you’re not my mate, aren’t you?”

I was afraid of a lot of things then—that I wasn’t his mate, but even more so that I might be. If matehood was true, and its “claim” bonded
souls,
that was a whole different level of commitment and pain I was setting myself up for.

“I never figured myself to be the committed type,” I confessed. “This just makes everything so official, so…”

Gem raised his dark eyebrows. “Real?” he offered.

“Dangerous,” I countered.

That went over like most kicks to the balls. Hurt shadowed his face, and maybe mine, too.

Life, like I mentioned, had dealt me and my sisters a cruel hand. In a way, we’d grown accustomed to the bad and the not so great. But the cruelty we’d faced had screwed us up in countless ways, making us bleed tears that burned their way down to our hearts.

I closed my eyes, trying to shake that familiar sense of impending doom. I didn’t want to hurt anymore. But I might. What I felt for Gemini packed enough punch to drive me to my knees. Tack on the claim he desired to weld us with, and he would destroy me if he walked away.

Maybe that was why I was so against meeting Mom and Pop Hamamatsu—they represented another step onto the Heartbreak Express.

I lifted my lids, my blue eyes traveling to meet Gem’s dark ones. “I’m not ready to be mated. I’m not ready to meet your parents. It’s not that I want to be with anyone else. I’m just not comfortable with what it means, or represents, or what it could lead to.”

He clasped my elbows, stroking them lightly. “I don’t understand your fear. The claim won’t alter you or us. It will only strengthen what’s already there.”

What Gemini considered strengthening, I viewed as weakening a part of me I couldn’t leave vulnerable. When I spoke, I could barely get the words out. “This connection…this claim, it’s the equivalent of marriage to your kind, isn’t it?”

He paused as if debating whether or not to answer. In the end, he told me the truth, refusing to lie, although I’d probably have preferred lies to honesty then. “Yes. All who are
were
would consider us married.”

So not what I needed to hear. “Is this why you want me to meet your parents? You’re hoping it will change my mind or something?”

“Taran, I’m not trying to force you into a corner. But while you try to play off what’s between us as nothing more than a casual relationship—one we both could walk away from—it’s not. You are my mate. I want to present you as such and solidify what you mean to me.”

My heart was beating way too fast considering we were only talking. “By claiming me, right? I mean, that’s what it’s all coming down to.”

“Our claim is something I deeply desire as a
were
and as a man.” The knuckles of his hand skimmed along my arm. “And that desire grows each time I’m with you.”

I forced my next words out. “If I do this—if I agree to allow this bond—will
you
consider us married?”

“I will. But we can postpone the actual ceremony—”

I stepped away from him, my eyes welling. “I can’t do this.”

He dropped his hands to his sides. “Which part?”

“All of it. Baby, we’ve only known each other a handful of months.”

He averted his gaze, shaking his head. “Taran, don’t use our brief time together as an excuse. I know what I feel. And even if I gave you years, I doubt your excuses would be any different.”

Who says we’d make it years? For all I knew, his Elders would order him to leave me as early as tomorrow, or he’d walk away without another glance back. But I don’t tell him this because, for me, I’ve already said too much. “I can’t,” was all I could offer.

The expression of sadness frozen on his features made my tears run faster. “All right, “he said. “You’re clearly not ready for what I’m offering, so for now, let’s drop it.”

My voice splintered like glass. “You’re pissed at me, aren’t you?”

In not answering right away he said enough, despite his next few words. “I don’t want to pressure you, and I don’t want to fight. But I won’t pretend that your response doesn’t affect me.”

He gave me his back and finished dressing. Tears drenched my cheeks as I watched him. He was the perfect blend of man and hero, and it didn’t matter. I couldn’t give him what he wanted.

He straightened slowly from pulling on his socks, his back still to me. He couldn’t stand to see me cry. Yet I knew that he was hurting, too.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered when he faced me.

“I’m sorry, too,” he said, once more gathering me to him and curling his long body over mine. “I don’t want to dwell on this. And I’ll never force you to do something against your will. But I want to feel closer to you. Please, at least consider meeting my parents. It would mean a great deal to me, and to them as well.”

He waited until I settled, then started for the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked, worried he could no longer stand to be around me. “I thought you didn’t have to work today.”

He withdrew the phone from his pocket. “Aric sent a text. A local pack on the Nevada side found evidence that suggests demons. He requests my presence for a meeting with the local clan of witches to see what course of action we should take, and to see if we need to involve the vampires at this time.”

I didn’t want to ask. “What kind of evidence?”

His features darkened. “The fresh remains of two humans.”

Gemini left our room following a brief kiss goodbye, leaving me with thoughts of demon children flapping their naked wings and the horrendous turn our day had taken.

Just a month prior, we’d succeeded in rescuing my sisters from a Tribe stronghold and a fate worse than death. Death by demon impregnation and delivery of said creature was the last way
anyone
deserved to go.

I shuddered, and jumped into the shower to wash away the disturbing memories of those demon children raking their claws against me, their long forked tongues flicking against my cheek, greedy for a taste of my insides. My skin crawled as I passed the loofah sponge along my body. I scrubbed hard, their nasty images flooding my mind and refusing to leave me.

My nightmares had warned me they were coming. That didn’t prepare me, though, for everything that happened. I was practically paralyzed with fear during the attack, and although I’d resented the backfire curse that had triggered our powers, it helped saved me, and ultimately, my sisters.

I stepped out of the shower, drying my body quickly and reaching for the lotion. The shower relaxed me and succeeded in erasing my disgusting and twisted memories. What it didn’t do was help me shake the disappointment shadowing Gemini’s features.

I wasn’t perfect. I knew that. But I never pretended to be perfect. Did I swear? Hell yeah. Was I inappropriate? Most sailors thought so. Did I have an attitude? Possibly. But if nothing else, I stayed true to who I was. My dilemma remained that who I was was someone Gemini’s ultratraditional Japanese parents wouldn’t like. That I was sure of.

Couldn’t my wolf see that I’d only jeopardize his relationship with them?

And couldn’t he see how scared I was to meet them?

As I finished drying my hair, I realized I could have handled things differently, although I wasn’t sure exactly how given my insecurities and fears. So I did what I did best: made myself look good on the outside so I’d feel better about how I felt on the inside.

I pulled on a skintight sweaterdress and thigh-high boots and strutted out of my room and into the kitchen, where Emme’s boyfriend, Liam, yapped away. Emme sat on a barstool, her small frame appearing to wilt as she suffered through another one of Liam’s hunting tales. I shook my head and tried not to grimace. That boy was going to make her a vegetarian if he told one more disembowelment story.

Liam didn’t seem to notice the green tone to her pallor as he enthusiastically continued his spellbinding tale. “…and then I tore into his hide like it was made of paper. Warm blood pooled in my jaws, spilling down my fur—ever have warm blood squirt in your mouth?” He didn’t wait for Emme to answer. “Greatest feeling ever—oh, and you should have seen how big his stomach was when I ripped it open with my fangs.” He laughed. “Somebody liked salmon, let me tell you—”

Emme whipped her head toward me. While she possessed the power to heal, her ability evidently couldn’t soothe her mounting nausea. She clutched her belly, swallowing hard. “Hi, Taran.”

That was what she said. What she really meant was, “Make him stop.” I tried not to laugh, but she really needed to tell him how much she hated these graphic accounts, rather than trying to be so supportive. I drew closer and spread her soft blond hair around her shoulders. “Hey, sweetie,” I said.

Her smile returned some of the color to her fair skin. “You look nice,” she said quietly. “Are you going out?”

I released her hair, focusing on the splash of freckles along the bridge of her nose. Emme was almost twenty-three, but her gentle disposition made her seem and look younger. I never had her innocence, like, ever. If she wasn’t my sister, I doubt she’d hang out with the likes of me. But she was, and she did. And I knew I was blessed because of it.

“Yeah. I have stuff to do,” I answered, inching away from her.

In all actuality, I meant to talk with her and Shayna, and get some insight on what to do about Gemini. But Liam had this thing: Hunting made him horny. He bounced off the walls whenever he returned from a mission, and then quickly bounced along with Emme between the sheets. His beast, so riled from chasing prey, usually alternated between bringing home bucks and banging Emme. It didn’t take a genius to see my youngest sister preferred the latter. And seeing how Shayna and Koda were newly married, they were all about the banging, too.

Shayna fiddled at the center island, using her ability to manipulate metal to sharpen a knife and cut into a chunk of meat the size of a toddler. She dropped the piece into a broiler pan, her long black ponytail swinging as she quickly seasoned it. But when she tried to heft the sucker in her arms, she almost dropped it.

Koda easily lifted the pan from her grasp and crossed the kitchen to place it into the oven. “Thanks, puppy,” she told him, lighting up the room with her grin. She skipped, I kid you not, right into his arms. I may have been all attitude, but Shayna was all perk and pep, “woo-hooing” her way right into the big brute’s heart.

Speaking of hearts…there was one the size of my skull on a serving plate.
What the—?
My eyes skimmed along our granite countertops. Butchered meat topped every casserole dish and pot we owned. A leg here, an organ there. It was like a twisted episode of
CSI.

Shayna turned to me and forced a smile. “We’re having
bear
for dinner tonight,” she explained.

My lips slowly parted as I turned back to Liam. “You’re welcome,” he said with a grin.

What do you say to that? Seriously? I edged away from a bowl overflowing with insides.

“Something wrong, T?” Shayna asked me.

“Besides the carnage?” I asked. I tried not to gag, but the row of intestines shining beside me on a silver platter shot that attempt to hell. I shuddered. “I was going to ask you about something”—crap, that liver poking through our Crock-Pot was the size of my thigh—“but I don’t want to interfere with all this foodie stuff you have going on, so I’ll take a ride over to see Celia.”

“You’re going to see the leeches,” Koda said.

He wasn’t happy. Wow, now there was a big ol’ shock coming from the guy who probably flossed his fangs with wire. I crossed my arms. “I’m going to see my sister. You remember Celia? She used to live here before your pussy werewolf Alpha dumped her.”

Koda’s tumultuous dark eyes squared on mine. “Don’t call him that.”

“You mean a pussy?” I liked Koda. Truly I did. He treated Shayna like a precious stone. That said, he couldn’t be mad at the vamps or at Celia for shacking up with them. Aric didn’t leave her with much of a choice after he left, did he?

“T, knock it off,” Shayna said. She left his arms and led me out of the kitchen, far from her walking building of a husband. She didn’t want us to fight. But Koda didn’t scare me.

Much.

Okay. In all fairness he scared everyone but Shayna.

Emme slipped from the barstool and quickly followed.

“What’s wrong, dude?” Shayna asked, her blue irises appearing to see right through me. “You seem off.”

I was, but I couldn’t tell them about Gemini just then. So I switched gears. “Did you hear about those humans who were found dead?”

Shayna nodded, causing her long black ponytail to bop behind her. “Yup. Koda says they’re fresh kills. He and Liam are going to lead a team after dinner if the pack currently scouting doesn’t find something first.” She considered me, her pixie face riddled with concern. “Is that all?”

I shrugged. “Isn’t that enough?”

“Well, yes, but…” She considered me. “What’s bugging you, T? For reals?”

I must have looked worse than I thought. “Nothing that can’t wait.” I pretended to glance at the hall clock. “I have to run. I’ll talk to you two later.”

I shrugged into my coat and grabbed my keys from the small table, then walked outside and onto our front porch. Shayna and Emme followed, catching up to me at the bottom of the steps. Emme clasped my hand. “Is this about Gemini?” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “I don’t mean to pry, but he seemed upset when he left.”

My attention shifted in the direction of Lake Tahoe when the breeze carried traces of its magic to brush against my cheek. I meant to insist nothing was up, but I waited too long to answer.

“Liam and I aren’t doing that great, either,” she admitted.

“What?” both Shayna and I said.

Shayna reached for her hand. “But-but, he’s, like, totally into you. And aside from the”—forcing a swallow—“bagging-the-bear thingy, he’s barely left your side.”

Emme focused hard on her feet, even though there was nothing there. “Don’t get me wrong. He’s good to me, and he loves me—I know he does.” She lifted her gaze, her attention alternating between me and Shayna. “But it’s not the same way your wolves love you. I can see it. And I’m starting to feel it.”

“Then he doesn’t know what he has,” I told her. I gathered Emme in a warm hug, hating how sad she seemed. Liam adored her. That much was obvious. But I understood what she meant. As much as he showered her with affection, it was different from the way Koda practically worshipped Shayna…and yeah, maybe how Gemini treated me, too.

Jesus. What was I going to do about my wolf?

I released her then, unsure what to say to offer her comfort. Fortunately, Shayna’s peppy inner cheerleader always had something positive to shake her pom-poms at. “Em, Liam’s already talking about Christmas and Valentine’s Day and next summer. Doesn’t that say he’s thinking about forever with you?”

“It’s not that his love is dwindling, or that he isn’t committed.” Emme shook her head. “It’s more like his love can’t go any further than what it is, if that makes sense.”

Shayna crinkled her brow, unable to understand. But she was very much spinning in postmarital bliss. It was all frolicking kittens and humping ponies as far as she was concerned. “I know he loves you,” she insisted.

True. But sometimes it wasn’t enough.

Something in my features must have given me away. Both exchanged glances before returning their full attention to me.

“T, what is it?” Shayna asked. “You look seconds from losing it.”

I forced down my worry and plastered a phony grin on my face. “Nothing that can’t wait,” I answered again. “Right now, you need to get back to your woolly mammoth, and you, Miss Emme, need to go back to story time.”

Shayna laughed at Emme’s grimace. I guessed Emme was hoping I’d save her from more of Liam’s riveting tales of disembowelment and decapitation.

I kept my grin in place, reaching to play with her hair again. “He loves you, baby girl. He really does,” I said.

“Thanks, Taran.” A glimmer of hope lit up her eyes. I always told it to her straight, so maybe the words meant more coming from me. But when her hands squeezed mine, I knew I wasn’t completely off the hook. “Are you sure nothing’s wrong? You seem so disheartened.”

I lifted my chin, working to hang on to my smile. “Positive. I just need some Celia time. It’s not the same around here without her.”

“No, it’s not,” both Emme and Shayna agreed.

Emme pushed a strand of her blond hair behind her ear. “Will you be back for dinner? Maybe we can talk more then.”

I thought about the remains of the autopsy scattered around the kitchen. “Sure. Wouldn’t miss it,” I bit out.

Before they could say anything more, I strutted down our walk and into the driveway, thinking I could make a quick and uneventful exit.

“
Taran Wird!
Must you dress like the devil’s slut?”

I thought wrong.

Mrs. Mancuso was hands down the worst neighbor in history, and the biggest pain in the ass in support hose. The cold breeze sweeping in from the lake flapped her neck skin like a sail, but the chill it brought had nothing on her stare. My nips could have snapped clear off from the coldness darkening her beady eyes. I took a few deliberate steps in her direction, only to have Emme clasp my arm and pull me back. “Taran,” my sister pleaded. “For once, just count to ten and ignore her.”

I considered Emme’s plea. For about two-point-five seconds, until Mancuso trained her glare on Shayna when Shayna offered a friendly grin and a wave. “What’s your problem?” I asked the old hag. Seriously, Shayna was just being nice. “Did you wake up on the wrong side of the crypt this morning?”

Her beady eyes narrowed. “No. I just live next to harlots,” she answered.

Here’s the thing: Say what you want about me, but don’t mess with those I love. “Zip it, you old coot!” I shot back. “Don’t you have Snow White to poison?”

Emme groaned as Mancuso abandoned the broom she was using to sweep her walkway and edged to her property line. “Give me one reason I shouldn’t kick your skinny ass,” she challenged.

I threw out a hand. “Um, I don’t know. Maybe ’cause you’d trip over your neck skin, break a hip, and lose your dentures?”

Shayna leapt in front of me. “She’s just kidding, Mrs. M.” Shayna always tried to keep the peace, but her comment only earned her a stiff middle finger in addition to the one Mrs. Mancuso was already waving at me. If she could have managed, she probably would have flipped Emme off with her toes. There was evil, and then there was Mrs. Mancuso. Most demons wouldn’t have stood a chance against this walking ad for adult diapers.

I watched her walk away, probably in search of puppies to kick, her middle fingers still high in the air. What had I ever done to deserve Mancuso?

Emme shook her head. “You weren’t very nice to her.”

To which I frowned and answered, “She started it.” Hey, I was all kinds of mature.

Emme sighed. “Now, Taran, you know if anything ever happened to her, you would feel terrible.”

I thought about it. “Nope. Not even a little bit.” I kissed her cheek, then Shayna’s, before slipping into my sedan and starting the engine with a roar.

Shayna tapped on the glass. “Be careful, T. Koda says there’s suspected demon activity in the area. We might have made a huge dent in the population, but those Tribe members who survived are still out there. Stay sharp, and stay close.” Her bright eyes dulled. “I don’t want them to get you, too….”