Pricolici (10 page)

The psychotic lupe’s eyes were a blank stare aimed at the sky and the rictus of death contorted his face into a gruesome mask complete with still wet blood that leaked from his nose and mouth. Tucker spit on the corpse before he knelt down next to Stelian. His hands trembled as he wiped at the blood and water on the alpha’s stomach.

“Stelian? Stelian, are you all right?” Tucker stared at the wounds on his stomach, but they were shallow cuts now, not the deep wounds he’d seen earlier. Stelian's shifting had taken care of the worst of his wounds, but the injury that scared Tucker the most was the blow to his head. The cut was still bleeding and there was a growing lump visible right at his hairline.

What if he never wakes up?
Phell said Stelian would die.
What if he does?

Tucker brushed Stelian's hair back carefully. He traced the edges, his fingers trembling slightly as he gently felt the wound, biting back a whimper. He glared over his shoulder at the lupe that had tried to make him leave earlier.

Why wasn’t he doing anything?

“Don't you have a doctor or something? Why the hell are you standing there with that stupid look on your face?”

Grecia’s husband shook his head. “You are a hultan,” the man whispered. “You called the lightning and now…now you heal him.”

Tucker looked back down at Stelian. He gaped at the warm yellow light coming from his hand, still cupped over Stelian's head wound. He felt warmth in his hand, but it didn't hurt. He hadn't realized he was doing anything.

Now that he was paying attention he could sense the power, like he was taking some of his warmth and pushing it into the torn flesh. He pushed a little harder, and the light got brighter. He could feel the power swirling through his aura, and then Stelian’s darker aura flared, reaching out. It sucked at his power, pulling it in as the two powers mingled again. Tucker shivered, his body swaying with the sensation until it faded away completely.

Tucker's eyes were wide as he slowly lifted his hand, trying to see where the light had come from. His palm was perfectly normal. There was dirt still under his nails, but the blood was gone. He blinked and shook his head. He felt hollow, yet peace and joy filled him. Stelian's head looked fine, the knot was gone, and it looked as though he'd never had any wound there at all. Glancing down, Tucker noticed the stomach and arm wounds were gone too.

“This is too weird,” he muttered, right before he slumped over Stelian’s body.

Chapter Nine

When he woke, he was once again in Stelian's bed. This time the lupe was with him, cradling him in his arms. When he tried to move they tightened around him, then relaxed.

“Hey there. Lie still, okay? You’ve been asleep for two days.”

“What happened?” Tucker asked groggily. “I remember….” He trailed off as his gaze slid from Stelian's head to his naked chest and stomach above the sheet. There was a bandage on the back of his hand, holding a needle hooked to an IV on a thin pole beside the bed. Clear liquid dripped slowly into the tube.

“Apparently, you used your magic to save me,” Stelian said quietly. “It took a lot out of you. What my men say you did…” Stelian wore a slightly awed expression as he touched Tucker’s cheek gently. “You’re amazing.”

Tucker shook his head. “I don't know what I did. I didn't try to do anything. It just happened.”

Stelian leaned down and kissed him. “Right now, using your magic is instinctual. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be dead without you wanting to help me heal.” He pressed his lips to Tucker's again. He slid his tongue into Tucker's mouth. Tucker lost himself in sensual bliss, moaning at the pleasure only Stelian seemed to be able to give him. He grunted in protest as Stelian ended the passionate kiss.

“Thank you,” Stelian said quietly.

“You saved me, too.” Tucker looked into Stelian’s eyes, then away in shame. “He was about to make me his mate, and I couldn't stop him.”

“I'm sorry I wasn't here before he hurt you.” He dropped a kiss on the wrap across Tucker's shoulder holding his injured arm stable across his chest.

“It will heal,” Tucker told him. Stelian nodded, but didn't look up. “Why, Stelian? Why did he do this? Grecia said he was your friend.”

“Once Phell had a mate he loved very much. Several of my haitas and I went on a journey to the territory of another haitas to arrange for trade, and I ordered Phell to scout ahead. Something seemed off to me. While he was gone, our haitas was attacked by humans thinking we were a pack of wolves. Two of my men died, along with Phell's mate.” His voice broke and Tucker could hear his sorrow. Stelian took a deep breath before he continued. “Phell blamed me. He left the pack after that, but he's never been far away, waiting for his chance to get revenge. He would’ve had it today, too, all because I haven't marked you.”

Stelian’s arms tightened around him. His voice deepened, the pain sounding close to the surface. “He would have taken you from me forever.”

Tucker shook his head. “He would have killed me right away if you had, so I couldn’t help you. He said so, and I believed him. He was insane, and raving, but something—or someone—was driving him. Being your mate would only have meant my death all the sooner.”

“Losing a mate… most lupes don’t survive with their minds intact. I thought, because of his age, he didn’t become mentally unstable. Just angry. But I was wrong.” Stelian looked into Tucker's eyes. “Do you still reject me? Not want to be my mate? Can you still question the fact we’re destined for each other?”

Tucker closed his eyes, unable to bear the hope and the fear so clear in Stelian's eyes. When he didn't speak, Stelian stiffened, and he began to move away.

Tucker clutched at his arm. “There’s still so much about myself I don’t understand. You say I’ve been coming to you for months now in an astral form, but I have no memory of that.  We didn’t really meet until a few days ago. I do care for you, but mates? I don’t feel it like you do. I’m really not a lupe.”

Stelian growled under his breath, and Tucker let his head roll back, exposing his throat. He knew the alpha was upset; he could sense Stelian’s wolf’s agitation. Stelian’s eyes glowed yellow. Most lupes who were mates met and that was that. They always had a choice, but their instincts knew when that other person was their perfect match. Who wouldn’t want that? Maybe that little detail was what convinced Tucker that he really never was a lupe. He was attracted to Stelian, but he couldn’t give him what he wanted yet. He didn’t just… know.

Tucker waited to see what Stelian would do, not wanting to provoke his wolf.
Could he trust him?

“No. Don’t do that. I’m just frustrated. My wolf can smell how attracted to me you are, and I want to claim you so much.” Stelian brought Tucker’s head to his chest and stroked his hair. He sighed. “I don’t want you to become my mate before you’re ready though. As much as I hate it, I will give you time.”

Tucker closed his eyes. Hearing Stelian say that was almost enough to convince him to change his mind. Knowing Stelian was willing to wait, even though his wolf was pushing him, told Tucker a lot about his character. He pressed his lips to Stelian’s bare chest, the hair tickling his lips. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Tucker woke as afternoon sun warmed his face through a window. He tried to roll away from the light, and his shoulder twinged. He cried out. He smacked his hand down on the bed. Stelian had been healed, but Tucker couldn’t figure out how to heal his own body. Or if he even could. Being stuck in bed always pissed him off, and he was tired of hurting already.

“Well, don’t move like that, silly,” said a wry female voice. He heard movement and the sound of the curtains sliding shut, leaving the room in deep shadows. “There, how’s that?”

Tucker blinked and then sat up straight on the bed when he recognized the voice. “Grecia?” He found her sitting in a chair beside the bed, a large bruise across her face, and a sling much like his binding her left arm to her chest. “You’re okay! I was so worried. I’m glad to see you!”

She snorted. “Of course I am. You might want to be careful how much more you move though. I don’t want to see if you’re that happy to see me. Besides, Stelian hasn’t punished me yet, and I don’t want to give him an excuse.”

Tucker looked down at the sheet pooling in his lap, one hip exposed. “Oh my God.” He slid back down in the bed, trying not to move his arms. “Sorry. I didn’t know I was naked.” He muttered under his breath, “Damn lupe, always stripping me when I’m passed out.”

Grecia laughed then grabbed her chest. “Oh, don’t do that. It hurts.”

Tucker looked at her bruised face. His smile faded. “What happened to you that night?”

“I heard a noise and went to check it out.” She looked embarrassed, her cheeks turning a little pink as she frowned. “That bastard snuck up on me. I tried to shoot him, but he nailed me instead. Shoved his claws right into my chest.” She gave Tucker a look. “Too bad I didn’t have my breastplate.”

Tucker rolled his eyes.

“I got him once, but I didn’t get another shot off before he bounced my face off a few hard surfaces and knocked me out. I’m not sure why he didn’t kill me. You know what happened after that.”

Grecia shifted her arm in the sling, and tucked it closer to her body. “I would’ve been here to see you before, but you were sleeping, and I needed to heal. I think the sheer amount of blood I lost made him think I was dead. Then I think he caught your scent. He was silent during the attack until he began sniffing around Stelian’s room, and then he began to growl. He wasn’t right.”

“I agree,” Tucker said. “He was a homicidal maniac.”

Grecia shrugged. “The weight of years, and the losses we all face, sometimes takes some of the older lupes like that. Especially if they lose their loved ones and don’t have others left to keep them stable. I’d be lost if Marevin were to die. Phell was angry when his mate died, but to try to take the mate of another lupe?” She shook her head. “He fed his rage until it filled him, and he felt nothing else. I could smell it on him, like an acrid tang.”

Tucker shivered.

“Are you cold?” Grecia asked. “I can get you another blanket.”

Tucker eyed her face and shoulder with her arm in the sling. “I think you should be resting, too.”

She snorted. “Right. I have a teenage son at home, and my husband has a gig at a new bar so the band is over practicing. This is resting.”

“The band?”

“Marevin—the big lupe that you nailed in the clearing. He’s also the drummer for Daos.”

Tucker was surprised. “Oh. I forgot about that.” He raised an eyebrow at Grecia. “He’s hot!” 

She laughed.

“Excuse me?”

Tucker’s head whipped around. Stelian stood in a patch of light at the door with his arms crossed over his chest and a frown on his face. “Uh, nothing.” He looked at Grecia’s smirk and dancing eyes. He threw a pillow at her, but aimed at her lap. She caught it in her good hand, laughing. “Shut up, you!”

Stelian growled a little by the door, and they both looked at him. She stood up, dropping the pillow into the chair. “I think I’ll be going now.”

Walking past Stelian, she bowed her head respectfully. “Alpha.”

“Thank you for sitting with him, Grecia.” Tucker raised an eyebrow at the growl in Stelian’s voice, even if the words were polite.

The door made a quiet snick as Stelian shut it behind her then turned to the bed. Tucker avoided his eyes. He wanted to use the excuse that the light Stelian turned on hurt his curiously sensitive eyes, but he knew it was more a desire to not let the older lupe know how embarrassed he was.

“Hi.”

“You want to tell me who you think is so hot?” Stelian asked.

Tucker shook his head, staring at his knees.

“Good.” The amusement in Stelian’s voice made Tucker look up. “As the manager for Daos, I’d hate to have to send the drummer out on stage with his face rearranged.”

Tucker’s mouth dropped open, and then he shook his head. Stelian sounded like he was joking, but Tucker knew that a lupe that had met his mate but not claimed him could be more than a little possessive. Especially one as dominant as Stelian. He was already pushing Stelian with his need to wait—no need to antagonize him.

Something Grecia said popped into his mind. “Why was Grecia afraid you would punish her for Phell taking me?”

Stelian scowled.

“It wasn’t her fault—he was too strong.”

“He’d never have known who you where, much less that you were here, if she hadn’t let you talk her out of going to the club. Her bravery standing up to Phell, and warning the Hunters even after she was hurt, is beside the point. Mostly, I know that you were the one who insisted on leaving. Since she couldn’t shoot you, I figure she did her best to make sure you stayed safe. It was just bad luck someone overheard you talking.”

“The car that followed us.” Tucker slumped against the pillows. “I thought she had someone following us from the club to make sure I didn’t take off. I never mentioned the car, because I was pissed off. Damn.” The entire attack could’ve been avoided if Tucker hadn’t kept that information to himself.

“Hey.” Stelian sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s not your fault. We all made mistakes, me included.”

Tucker gaped at him. An alpha was admitting to making a mistake?

“Oh knock it off. I’m capable of acknowledging I’m not infallible.” Stelian traced one finger along the sling strap over Tucker’s shoulder. “If I’d taken the time to tell you what was going on, instead of taking off, you never would’ve left in the first place. I’m not used to the idea of having a mate to answer to, much less expect you to obey me without a reason.”

“Yeah, not going to happen.” Tucker snorted. He wasn’t stupid, but he wasn’t exactly known for being biddable—his previous status as a submissive wolf aside.

“There are times when the Hunters must leave, and I don’t sit behind my desk and demand they risk themselves when there’s a danger to our secret while I stay safe. I won’t always be able to tell you everything beforehand.”

“I get that.”

There was a moment of quiet. Stelian seemed surprised when Tucker didn’t say anything else. He stood up. “Well, I’m glad we had that talk. I originally came up here, though, because I thought you might like to get some lunch downstairs.” Stelian grabbed some sweats and a shirt off the dresser.

“Are those my clothes?” Tucker asked.

“Yeah.”

“You brought them in here from my room?”

Stelian growled. “That wasn’t your room. This is your room, yours and mine.”

Tucker sighed. One civil conversation didn’t mean they wouldn’t have little trip ups along the way. Stelian was still way too bossy. “Can I get some underwear, please?”

“No. I threw all of those away. You had boxers. Who wears boxers? They’re ugly. Besides, I like you better without them.”

Tucker suppressed his own growl. For a male that wasn’t going to rush him, Stelian was sure doing a good job of being pushy. The amused look the alpha shot him, as if he knew how frustrated Tucker was, pushed him over the edge.

“Oh, for that you can wait downstairs.” Tucker glared when Stelian hesitated.

“Tucker, I think—”

“Right now I don’t care what you think. If you think we’re going to be partners, you have to do what I need for you to do sometimes, too.” If Stelian didn’t back off, they might get into that argument he’d been expecting anyway.

Once the door shut behind the reluctant lupe, Tucker took the clothes Stelian had set on the bed. He wasn’t sure how he’d get them on with one arm in a sling, but he’d figure it out. It wasn’t until he climbed out of the bed, and caught sight of his body in the mirror, that he saw the marks.