Unleashed Temptation (14 page)

coming from downstairs.”

Nick scooped her dress off the floor. “Put this on. I think your place is on fire.”

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“Stay behind me,” Nick ordered Carly after he’d hurriedly jerked on his pants.

The smell of smoke tickled his nose but if they were fast, they might be able to get

out of the apartment. He carefully opened the bedroom door and a wave of smoke

accosted them.

“Shit!” He slammed the door shut and hurried toward the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Carly stood right behind him as he grabbed two towels

from one of the cabinets.

He shoved one towel at her. “Wet this down.”

Without questioning him, she began soaking her towel in the sink while he

drenched his using the faucet in the tub. “Wring it out when you’re through,” he said

without turning around.

Seconds later they were finished and standing by her bedroom door. “Stay low and

try to breathe normally through the towel.”

To give her credit, Carly wasn’t panicking. She’d wrapped the towel around her

face and was following his every move.

Nick tapped the handle with his hand and it still wasn’t hot. He opened the door

again and smoke billowed in immediately. Taking Carly’s hand, he crouched down and

they crawled toward the stairs.

It was impossible to guess where the fire started, but if he was a betting man, he’d

say the kitchen. And his gut told him this was no accident.

When they reached the stairs, he squeezed Carly’s hand and they slid down the first

couple stairs. It was too thick to see anything. Even with his extrasensory abilities,

crawling through the white smoke was like navigating a plane blind.

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As they inched down the stairs he realized he still didn’t feel any heat. That could

mean a number of things. The fire was slow spreading—though that wouldn’t explain

the thick smoke. Or, someone had set off some sort of smoke bomb. That would be even

worse because it meant someone wanted to flush them out of the house.

If it was the Immortal, he wouldn’t want any harm to come to Carly so he probably

wouldn’t risk burning her alive.

Nick’s heart rate increased as they reached the bottom stair. They could be walking

in to a trap and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He took Carly’s hand

and placed it on the waist of his jeans. He couldn’t hold her hand while they were

crawling and he didn’t want to lose her.

The front door was the closest, most obvious exit. A few moments later they were

by the door. Despite the wet towel, his eyes were watering and he could only imagine

how much Carly was suffering.

Closing his eyes, he lifted up on his knees and unlocked the door. As he opened it, a

whoosh of fresh air greeted them. Under any other circumstances he would have let

Carly go first, but if someone was lying in wait for them, he wasn’t taking any chances.

Nick scanned the yard as they tumbled onto the front porch. He didn’t see anything

out of the ordinary and unfortunately he couldn’t smell much. If someone was trying to

trap them, the son of a bitch did a good job masking his smell.

Hooking his arm under Carly’s, he helped her stand and walk to the middle of the

yard.

She wiped her eyes and took off the towel at the same time he did. “What the hell is

going on? I don’t see a fire.”

Smoke billowed out from window cracks and the front door of her two-story

apartment, but she was right. No flames.

The wind shifted suddenly and all the hair on the back of his neck stood up. The

leaves of the surrounding oak and palm trees ruffled and even with the dull city lights,

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a full moon hung high in the gray sky. “Is your grandmother home?” He hadn’t seen

her car when he’d arrived.

“No, it’s her bridge night. Why are you whispering?” she asked, keeping her voice

equally low.

“Whatever happens, promise you’ll listen to me without question.”

“I don’t understand—”

Carly abruptly stopped talking as a figure emerged from around the corner of her

apartment.

“Stay behind me,” Nick growled as he put himself in between Carly and the man in

the black trench coat. “Who are you?” he demanded.

The man with the dark hair and flashing green eyes kept a distance of about twenty

yards between them. “My real name is Asha. Give me the woman and I’ll let you live.”

His voice reverberated through the trees with an otherworldly growl.

“She’s mine.” Nick’s growl was quieter, but just as deadly.

He found it interesting that the other man started to move to his left and not closer

toward them. He obviously had some weaknesses. And his name. Asha? It sounded

Eastern. Damn he wished he’d paid better attention in history class.

“Then why haven’t you marked her, lycan?”

The scent of Carly’s fear tickled his nose but he couldn’t comfort her now. And he

hated that. He could feel the change coming on. If anything, he was about to scare the

hell out of her. Nick ignored the Immortal’s question. His answer wouldn’t make a

difference anyway.

“Carly, start walking backward. Take small steps. When I make my move, run,” he

murmured under his breath.

It was impossible to know if she would follow his orders, but Nick took a few steps

toward Asha. When he did, the other man’s hands started to glow a bright orange. It

was subtle, but Nick saw him take a step away from him. Interesting. “If you somehow

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manage to kill me and take my mate, my pack will hunt you to the ends of the earth.

You must know that.”

“She is not marked! I want the woman,” the other man growled, ignoring Nick’s

threats.

Everything around Nick funneled out until his focus was solely on Asha the

Immortal. There was a flash of bright light as fire shot from the man’s hand.

That’s all Nick’s wolf needed to change. Even if his human side didn’t want to

change, he had no choice in the matter. His life and his mate’s life were being

threatened. No matter how many times he did it, changing form hurt. Flesh tore, bones

shifted and snapped, clothes ripped, and fangs extended. It was almost instantaneous.

In the background of his mind he thought he heard Carly scream, but he tuned it

out.

Protect his mate. That was his only thought.

He was much stronger in wolf form and he planned to use that to his advantage.

His fur burned where he’d been hit, but it was barely an afterthought.

Growling deep in his throat, a savage roar erupted as he lunged at the Immortal.

Attack and retreat wasn’t an option in this fight.

The Immortal would fight to the death and so must he. He went for the throat, but

the other man was fast. Much faster than a human. He twisted and Nick’s fangs sank

into the flesh of his shoulder.

A coppery, bitter taste filled his mouth and he clenched harder. A searing pain

ripped through his side, forcing him to release his grasp.

Howling in pain, he fell to the earth, landing on all fours.

The stench of burning fur surrounded him, but he continued to circle the Immortal.

All he needed was one opening.

One of his opponent’s hands burned bright but the arm he’d injured hung lifelessly

at his side.

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A sharp, piercing scream reverberated through the air. Carly! He didn’t turn

because he couldn’t risk it. But the Immortal did.

For a split second his gaze shifted and Nick saw his opening. Using all his raw

energy and rage, he lunged.

Instead of tearing through flesh, he tore through air.

A rush of air pushed his fur back as a giant mass of black fur and sharp teeth flew

past him. Before he could move, the other wolf ripped through the Immortal’s throat,

severing his head completely from his body.

The Immortal was dead and his mate was safe. His brain computed the thought and

he collapsed against the grass. A low pain spread up his side and deep in his belly.

Maybe he’d been hit harder than he realized.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!
Carly clutched her stomach and forced the bile back.

What the hell was going on?

The man she was sleeping with turned into a giant gray and white wolf-dog-

looking creature, a crazy man was shooting fire from his hands, then two other black

wolves showed up.

And one had just ripped the head off the fire-throwing guy. Carly stumbled once,

then fell on her behind. The grass provided a soft landing and she didn’t have the

energy to move.

Sirens sounded in the distance but she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the fallen

gray wolf—no, Nick—and the other two wolves. One of the black animals stood over

the gray one, licking his face and howling as if it was in pain.

The other stood over what used to be a man but was now a crumbling mass of ash

and dwindling flames.

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She must have made some sort of noise because instantly the two black wolves

turned to look at her. When one started stalking toward her she sprung to her feet. “Uh,

nice doggie—wolfie—whatever.” Her voice shook as she took a couple steps back.

Instead of advancing, as she expected, the black wolf with the dark eyes started

changing before her eyes. There was a cacophony of harsh breaking sounds before a

completely naked man—Stephan Lazos to be exact—stood before her. Even though

she’d just seen the same thing happen in reverse, she blinked a couple times.

“What…” The word barely squeaked out.

“Carly, listen to me. I hear sirens, which means someone probably saw the smoke

and called the fire department. You’re going to tell the police you don’t know what

happened, do you understand?”

She didn’t
know
what happened so she wouldn’t be lying. Unable to find her voice,

she nodded before her gaze strayed to the other two wolves.

“Thomas is going to get Nick away from here before anyone arrives,” Stephan said,

as if he read her mind.

“What about you?” The words came out raspy.

“I’m going to stay here. I know a lot of the fire department guys and I’ll do most of

the talking. Okay?”

“Okay.”

He turned and nodded. Almost immediately the black wolf pushed the gray one

until it stood. The gray wolf turned to her and she found herself staring into familiar

pale eyes.

Her throat seized. Despite everything she’d witnessed, her brain was just starting to

comprehend what was going on. When the gray wolf took a step in her direction, she

jumped back. Guilt coursed through her at the hurt sound the animal made, but she

couldn’t help it. Seeing the man she was pretty sure she loved change into a scary wolf

was a twenty on the Richter scale of crazy.

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When the sirens grew louder, Stephan shot her a desperate look, glanced toward

the two animals, then back at her. “Just stay put, okay.” It wasn’t a question.

He shouted something she couldn’t understand and sprinted in the other direction.

Stephan and the wolves disappeared around the corner of her grandmother’s house.

Wearing her skimpy summer dress and no shoes, she nervously glanced around the

yard and wrapped her arms around herself. The pile of smoldering ash had nearly

dissipated.

About a minute later Stephan reappeared. This time he wore jeans, a T-shirt, and

running shoes.

Before he could say a word she blurted, “Where’s Nick going? Is he okay?”

Stephan rubbed a tired hand over his face. “Thomas is driving him to our parents’

estate. He’s… Nick is injured and he’ll heal faster in wolf form.”

The sirens were getting louder so she rushed on. “Wolf? What are you guys?”

“We’re shifters. To be exact, we’re werewolves. Not like you see in the movies

though. We
do
have to shift, but we don’t shift during full moons unless we want to and

we don’t run around like uncontrollable monsters.”

“So what happened to that guy? And who was he? And what did he want?” She pointed

toward the leftover ashes. Her voice rose with each syllable but she was unable to stop herself.

“That guy was an Immortal. I haven’t seen one in nearly a century and to be honest,

I don’t know much about them. They’re very territorial and when he met you, he

decided he wanted to keep you.”

“Keep me? I’m not a piece of furniture!” she shrieked.

Stephan shrugged, and his unconcerned attitude pissed her off even more. “To him,

you would have been. He would have used you up until he was tired of you. Then he’d

have likely killed you.”

She turned at the blaring noises. A fire truck rocketed up the driveway and men

spilled from it like ants.

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“Are you going to be okay?” Stephan’s voice was low and reminded her a little of

Nick’s.

The thought of Nick hurting somewhere brought a sudden rush of burning tears to

her eyes. She shook her head. No, she wasn’t okay. Not even a little bit.

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Carly checked the front of her button-down black raincoat one more time before

knocking on Nick’s front door. She’d been trying to get a hold of him since everything