The Lonely Wolf (12 page)

Unable to stop Ludwig, Quintilius watched as the angel’s Wrath hit Claudius with a concentrated wave of ultrasounds.

At the impact, instead of exploding in thousands of organic particles, Claudius wavered, revealing he was an astral projection. A moment later, his image recomposed, doubled in size, and a loud laugh echoed in the chamber. The mortal woman wasn’t in the room anymore, whereas the vampire servant was standing by the couch, her eyes betraying her fear even though she didn’t move, as if waiting for orders from her master.

“I didn’t peg you for the naive kind, archangel.” Claudius’s image vanished, but he kept talking. “The wolf, yes. But you—” He clicked his tongue. “You I thought were much more sophisticated.” Then he reappeared behind Ludwig, forcing the angel to turn around, only to have Claudius vanish and reappear once again in front of him.

“Or maybe you are that simple,” Claudius said, from the couch. “If you thought I would be in the same room with you. Unlike yours, my talents are not a secret. Everybody knows of them. On the other hand, your Wrath’s accuracy is truly a surprise.” He shook his head. “I’m sure you wouldn’t like to reveal what a perfect weapon you are.” He waved his hand in the air, as if to dismiss the topic. “Anyway, my offer stands.”

Quintilius’s wolf roared. “You leave my son out of this.”

“Your son is a delinquent who attacked one of mine. He will pay for his crime. I’m being magnanimous in offering the archangel a way out of the mess he has dug himself into.”

“You just want him in your pocket,” Quintilius said, bile corroding his throat.

“Of course I do. I had an agreement with the last archangel, and I look forward to doing business with the new one as well.” Claudius focused back on Ludwig, who had remained quiet.

Quintilius couldn’t fathom what was passing through the angel’s mind, but Ludwig’s taut expression and the stillness of his hard body gave away his fury more than if he had been shouting.

“Not everyone is like Arariel.” Quintilius couldn’t see a way out of the situation.

“Not everyone is as corrupted and as depraved as he was, and that’s a pity.” Claudius sighed. “But the new archangel has so much to lose if he doesn’t cooperate, that even if he plays the honor card now, he will eventually capitulate to my will.”

Before Quintilius could say something back, the vampire raised one hand.

“And if he doesn’t—” Claudius licked his lower lip. “Well, a part of me hopes he will try to be the better man.” His eyes lit with madness. “It would be such a pleasure to break the great Ludwig Barnes.” He blinked and shivered. “Yes, after torturing the cub, I’d—”

Already shifting, Quintilius didn’t hear the rest of Claudius’s psychotic rambling. At the same time his wolf came out, Ludwig opened his mouth. Sensing the angel’s distress, Quintilius immediately changed back into his human form. It had only taken a moment to shift, but it had been enough time for Ludwig to unleash his deadly power.

Quintilius took in the sight of the obliterated couch. Ludwig’s Wrath had razed everything behind the furniture. A long trench bisected the mosaic floor alongside its length, and it ended with a perfectly circular hole on the wall at the end of the room.

Still standing mere centimeters from the couch, the servant screamed as she patted herself. Unscathed, the woman ran away, while Claudius’s disembodied laughter echoed all around.

“That’s the spirit.” His voice came from everywhere at once. “You have a week to accept my offer.”

“Let’s get out of here.” His limbs shaking and his stomach heaving, Quintilius squeezed Ludwig’s arm, and they walked toward the vestibule.

As they approached, a whoosh sound announced the opening of the door, and the majordomo stepped inside the room a moment later. In silence, the man assessed the damages, then opened an arm to the side to let them through.

They retraced their steps, and only when outside Claudius’s property, Quintilius let out the growl he had kept in. Before he could let all his rage out, Ludwig circled his arms around him and took off.

“Hang tight,” was the only warning Ludwig gave him, as he powered through the flight, pumping his wings above the clouds where he rode a thermal, reaching a dizzying speed.

Flying in his angel’s arms had always been an experience bordering the mystical realm, but now Quintilius could only feel how hard the wind was lashing at his exposed skin, and how cold it was, even for his wolf.

Ascending in a tight loop, Ludwig brought them higher, until the oxygen was too rarefied for Quintilius and he started seeing black dots swimming before his eyes. His head felt light, and a peaceful void welcomed him.

A moment later, Ludwig’s worried voice echoed in his ear.

“Quin?”

Quintilius was shaken by rough hands, and he forced his heavy eyelids up, but had to blink a few times before the angel’s face came into focus.

“No need to slap me,” he hoarsely whispered.

“You scared me.” Ludwig pressed his arms over Quintilius’s back, bringing him closer. “You went limp—” With a shudder, he tightened his hold, but forgot his own strength.

“You’re chocking me,” Quintilius managed to say.

“Sorry.” Ludwig loosened his embrace, but kept his arms wound around him.

“Where are we?” High grass tickled Quintilius’s legs through his pants.

The night was pitch black, and he couldn’t see any recognizable landmark. The air was frigid, and they were on a high ridge overlooking a dark valley.

“The Dolomites. I needed to vent, and I thought you wanted to shift.” Ludwig bumped his forehead against Quintilius.

“The Dolomites. You flew more than six hundred kilometers in less than—” Quintilius looked down at his wrist watch and shook his head in disbelief. “Thirty minutes. Did you try to kill me?”

“I admit I kind of forgot myself up there.” Ludwig was shaking and he lowered his lips to Quintilius’s.

The soft pressure felt good, and Quintilius opened his mouth to Ludwig, needing the comfort of his familiar touch.

“I can’t go on without you,” Ludwig whispered as he plunged his tongue in, transforming the kiss from sweet to demanding. “I miss you.” His hands stroked Quintilius’s back with hurried, frantic movements, grabbing, pulling at his clothes. “I miss your body beneath mine.” One hand dropped to Quintilius’s belt, and the leather was jerked away with one forceful pull. “I miss the scent of your love on my mouth.”

Gasping, Quintilius tried to slow the angel, but Ludwig, usually attentive to Quintilius’s needs, was pushing down his jeans already. “Ludwig—”

In response, Ludwig grunted and turned Quintilius around, pressing his hard body against his back as he lowered his pants, seeking an intimacy that felt all wrong at the moment.

“Stop!” Quintilius spun to face Ludwig. “Not like this, when you’re angry.” He placed a hand over Ludwig’s chest. “Never like this.” Shaking and panting, he raised one hand to caress the angel’s jaw, and Ludwig leaned into it.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. I’d never—” His voice a whisper so low, only Quintilius’s wolf senses could have heard it.

“I know.” He brought both of them down to the ground and cradled the angel in his arms. They remained entwined as Ludwig softly cried on Quintilius’s shoulder.

Later, as Ludwig circled above, Quintilius shifted and let his wolf run for the remainder of the night.

****

Pain as real as a cutting wound to his midsection forced Lupo to double over the floor.
What the f… is your mother talking about?

Jasmine remained silent. Meanwhile, the sound of the elevator door being closed echoed throughout the walls, propelling Lupo into action.

Answer me
, he demanded, lowering the door handle with such strength he ripped the elegant brass leaf-shaped lever from the wooden surface, leaving a jagged hole behind.

“How will I explain that?” Jasmine cried as he erupted in her room.

Without thinking, he walked up to her. “Same way you fabricate stray dogs—”

Her eyes blazing with fury, she raised her chin and stared at him. “I’ve been bringing dogs into my room to justify your presence, you obtuse wolf.”

“What are you talking about?” Her nearness occluded his senses, her scent mixing with the overwhelming rage he couldn’t control.

“You idiot, I’ve been planning to bring you here since the day I first saw you.”

“Here?”

“Yes, here.” She raised her hands in exasperation, and he grabbed her wrists.

“In the Purists’ headquarters, where if I’m caught I could be executed for ruining your virtue.”

“Well, you didn’t look so terrified when you were about to ruin my virtue before my mother arrived,” she mocked him.

“I wasn’t thinking.” He brought her united hands to his chest, and pressed her to him.

“Me neither.” Her eyes softened and so did her body that relaxed against his. “But I was thinking when I decided this was the safest place to meet.”

“And how would that be?”

“Because I live alone, and besides my father and my brothers, no men are allowed into my apartments, and no one would ever think I’d let a man here or that anyone would be so foolish to sneak in. Plus, as I just told you, I brought dogs in so that their scent would cover yours.”

“My scent—” he started to protest, but Jasmine cocked her head and gave him a sweet smile.

“Your scent is nothing like a dog.” Her eyes widened as she thought,
In fact, it drives me crazy.
Then she said, “But to my mother, you smell the same as a mutt.”

“And the fact that you mother is racist is good because?”

Her expression darkened for a moment, then she sighed. “Because now you’re here and—”

The ever-consuming anger came back, and Lupo let her go as if she was burning him. “And you have to get ready for your fiancé.”

“I don’t love him.”

“Because you love
me
, is that right?” he snarled, pacing before her like a caged animal.

“I’m mated to you, not to him.”

“And how would you know? We’re from different species. Mating laws could be different.” But it was his anger speaking, because he had known since the moment they met that she was his soulmate. He might not have understood the magnitude of his feelings at the beginning, but the sweet ache in his chest any time he thought of Jasmine was self-explanatory. Most of all, if he’d had any doubt before, the pain burning through him at the thought she was promised to another man was undeniable proof the Great Wolf meant for them to be together.

“I can hear your thoughts and I can send you mine.”

He heard the plea in her voice and saw the shine in her eyes, but his mind was playing images of Jasmine and her fiancé together and he roared, “And?” when all he wanted was to drag her to the big couch in the corner, tear away her clothes, and mark her with his scent and his bite. First thing, he would plunge his fangs into her shoulder, so that nobody else could ever claim her. Then he would take his time to finally feast on the sight of her.

“I was taught that it only happens between true mates… and it has never happened to me before,” she said, taking his breath away. “I’ve been betrothed to Seth since I was five, and I’ve never felt for him anything like what I feel for you. I care for him like a brother.”

“Has he ever… seen you without—” Lupo couldn’t finish the sentence, his chin pointing at her dark garment.

“Of course not!” She shook her head, her eyes wide as she hugged herself. “Only during the mating ceremony, a woman will allow her husband to remove her veil and
chiton
,” she recited.

“You were allowing me.” He stepped forward, and she backed toward the wall.

“You are my mate,” she repeated.

Mine.

Yours.

At her submission, Lupo’s senses went in overdrive. He grabbed hold of her, crushing her against him, seeking her mouth through the offending fabric. “This must go.”

She nodded, but stopped his hand before he ripped the veil in two. “I’ll do it.” With shaky fingers, she reached for the bottom part of the veil and lowered it, until her nose first and her mouth next came into view.

At the sight of her pink lips, Lupo’s heart slammed hard against his ribcage, and he felt lightheaded. “You’re so beautiful.”

Jasmine had high cheekbones and proud traits, and he thought that her face matched her attitude.

But now that he’d had a taste of her, he wanted more. “Remove it, completely.” He tugged at her crown, moving the fabric away from her forehead. This time, she let him lower the rest of the headpiece.

Her long, auburn tresses spilled out, and he passed his fingers through their length, inhaling gulps of jasmine oil emanating from her hair. “You feel like silk.”

She stood still, her big, black eyes following his every movement.

Kiss me
, she ordered him.

In a heartbeat, his mouth was on hers. His wolf growled and ran after the panther. The moment Lupo’s lips touched hers, a jolt of pure pleasure passed through his body, searing him. Never before had he felt as whole as he felt now. Lights exploded behind his eyelids.

Mine!
she exulted.

Mine, wolf,
the panther roared as she bit his wolf.

Without having a clue of how that could have happened, Lupo had been marked.

****

Ludwig circled several meters above the ledge, following the big dark-brown wolf running up and down the contour of the mountain.

Quintilius didn’t need any protection, either in wolf or human form, but Ludwig had always liked the idea of watching over him. How many times had Quin called him his guardian angel?

With a deafening roar, the wolf chased away a bear, and Ludwig laughed, flying lower until he landed near the animal. As Quintilius had taught him, Ludwig sat on his haunches and reached out his hand to the wolf, waiting for him to take the first step.

Without hesitation, the wolf nudged his muzzle into Ludwig’s hand, and opened his mind to him.

Angel.

Yes, my wolf.

He. Hurt.

I know and I’m sorry.

You?