Were Slave (2010) (12 page)

Tears burned her eyes but she stayed strong. "Come back with
me."

"I won't leave my pack without a leader."

"Bring them with you." Determination pushed all doubts from
her mind. "Paqualette is my country and I welcome your pack." She smiled as
every piece began to fit together. "Saul?"

"Yes, my, uh, Nayla."

"The country respects you. If they realize a Were has been
living amongst them for all these years and that I've trusted you as my guard,
then they're bound to accept Mace's pack. Don't you think?"

"I don't know. I suppose it could help."

She turned back to Mace. "There's a thousand acres of
undeveloped land in the eastern section of Paqualette. A generous river runs
through it and I've heard the soil is rich. I want to give that land to you and
your pack. You can finally have a home of your own. All I ask is that the Weres
obey Paqualette law just as the humans do. There can't be any separation or it
won't work."

Mace looked at Kaige, his second-in-command. The Were had
seemed very important to Mace, possibly a good friend, Nayla had observed
during their time at the castle. But did the Were have a say in this pack? She
didn't quite understand the dynamics yet.

Kaige transformed and, just like every other time Nayla had
seen him in his human form, he left her a little breathless. He was almost as
handsome as Mace, but in a carefree way with his long brown hair unkempt,
sitting in clumps that hung down his broad shoulders. His smoky gaze met Mace's
and he murmured something in their secret Were language.

Mace shook his head, apparently dismissing whatever his
friend had said, then turned back to Nayla. He squeezed her shoulders gently
but gave no sign of acceptance. Doubt shadowed his eyes. "Your offer is very
generous but I can't accept your charity."

"Charity? Mace, isn't this what you've been searching for? A
home for your pack? Equality and peace with the humans?"

"Equality?" He scoffed. "That'll be the day." He dropped his
hands to his sides and cursed under his breath as he walked away from her.

Rage built up inside and she followed him, determined to win
this argument. "Does my offer offend you so? Do you have any idea what I've
overcome to even consider it?"

He stopped at the riverbed and whipped around, cutting her
with his dark gaze. "Tell me, Nayla. What did we scary Weres do to the precious
Queen of Paqualette?"

She stifled the memories rushing to her mind. This wasn't
the time to show weakness, but Mace needed to know her story. "Paqualette has
always been a peaceful country. We tried to remain neutral during the Great
War. Our soldiers stayed home to protect our boundaries and didn't allow any
Were to step over. But it wasn't enough. One night, a bloodied, battered Were
broke into my home and murdered my mother and father. He tore them apart while
I watched, helpless and terrified. There was nothing I could do to save them."
She stopped to take in a calming breath. The memory was still too fresh in her
mind.

"Nayla. I'm so sorry." Mace's voice was a gruff whisper. Her
stomach churned. She'd never told anyone but her physician about what else had
happened that day. But Mace needed to know. If he chose not to want her after
he heard the story, then so be it.

"His fur was covered in blood as he approached me. I was
curled up in the corner of the room, paralyzed with fear. I couldn't even
gather the nerve to scream, to yell at him for murdering my parents. I couldn't
fight back. I was a coward."

"You were a child." He grabbed her wrist, but she twisted
away, unable to feel his touch at that moment.

"I was a young teenager." She gulped down her anxiety and
continued. "He laughed at me then and...and, in his dirty, foul human form, he
hurt me so savagely that I--" Her voice betrayed her and she broke into a
sob.

A violent growl ripped from Mace's throat and Nayla winced.
She gathered the courage to look into her lover's eyes to say the most
important part.

"I can't have children." She held her stomach and a familiar
knot twisted deep in her womb as she recounted the memory. She'd tried to
forget, tried to make it not matter. But it did matter. Now that her future
wasn't only her own, it mattered more than she ever wanted it to.

Shame consuming her, she looked away from Mace's watchful
gaze and continued. "I was a virgin, but he didn't care. He had his way with me
and made it so I can never bear children." She sucked in a breath and slowly
looked up to see his reaction. "So can you understand that when I was made
Queen, I swore I would never allow such a travesty to happen to anyone else in
my kingdom?"

Mace's nostrils flared, his eyes narrowed and his muscles
tensed to make him seem at least a foot taller. "I'll find him, Nayla." His
lips tightened as he bared his teeth. "I swear to you I will find him and make
him pay for hurting you."

She believed him and honestly wouldn't have minded seeing
that bastard punished at the hands of her lover. But the past had been settled
in the past. There was no one left to penalize. "He was already found and
brought to justice for killing my parents, as was his pack." By the Paqualette
Guard, so it was told. They'd hunted down the pack during daylight hours and
decapitated every one of them.

Mace clenched his hands so hard, she heard his knuckles
crack. "I'm very sorry you went through that," he said through gritted teeth,
obviously holding back his rage. "Is there anything I can do, Nayla, to make it
up to you?"

She swallowed and looked away from his fierce stare. "That
day is the reason I had you captured and imprisoned. I was wrong to judge all
Weres by the actions of one, I see that now and I want to make it right. I
trust you, Mace. I trust your pack. And I want to show the people of Paqualette
what I see in you."

He stepped closer and she allowed him to wrap his arms
around her. In his arms, she felt safe. In his arms, she could almost forget.

He kissed the top of her head and drew her close. "Nayla, my
Nayla, had I known you then, I would've protected you and your family." His
hand cupped her cheek and his muscles relaxed.

Nayla leaned into his palm, welcoming the warmth, needing
it.

He stared at her for a long moment and she hoped he wasn't
rethinking wanting to have her as his mate.

She'd never be able to bear his children.

Finally, he spoke in a low voice. "Are you okay?"

"I am." She ran her fingers down his chest. "I would be
better if you agreed to come back with me."

"I won't be your WereSlave."

"I know. I would never ask that of you now." She watched hopefully
as the hard lines of his face softened some. Her fingertips gingerly circled
his bare chest.

"I won't live apart from you, Nayla. You're my mate. You'll
live with me in a home that I build for us." He held her hand still above his
heart.

"The castle could be our home. We have everything we need
there." Joy was quickly smothered by reality. "But I'm afraid there is a law,
stopping me from having a husband."

He shook his head. "I don't need your country's approval. In
the eyes of my people, you're already mine."

His. But what of love? Did Weres declare their love? Or was
she a means to an end? She couldn't help wonder if Mace knew she'd offer land
to his pack. Did she really mean something to him or was this all just a well
organized effort to find a home for his people?

No. Of course he cared for her. She saw it in his adoring
gaze. She felt it in the way he made love to her so passionately.

"You'll change the law. If their approval means so much to
you." He tilted his head. "If I mean something to you."

Change the law? It seemed so simple. She'd never considered
it before. She'd always thought her country deserved her individual attention,
that the law was there for a good reason. She'd been prepped and prepared to be
a selfless servant until her last breath. Certainly having Mace at her side as
her consort--no, her King, an equal ruler--would only help her be a better Queen.

"The council will have to agree."

"They will. I'll see to it."

Nayla didn't want to ask what he meant by that. "Then you
agree? You'll come back with me?"

His jaw visibly ticked as he nodded. "Yes, I agree."

* * * * *

She'll never bear my children. Mace let the knowledge sink
in as he carried her in his arms through the dark forest. He'd spent countless
years dreaming of finding a mate and having the family he'd wanted since he'd
been human. A dream that had been torn from him just as his wife had been.

He'd lost everything with this plague that had transformed
him into every man's enemy. A Were. A drifter.

Now that he'd found Nayla, he refused to let her go.
Children or no, he'd love and protect her. He'd never allow anyone to hurt her
again. And as they traveled closer to danger, to Fenton and the unknown, he
held her tighter to his body.

She nuzzled up to his neck, her arms enfolded loosely around
his shoulders, her legs wrapped around his waist. She hadn't spoken a word
since they'd started their trek back to the castle.

Her body trembled slightly, but not as she had the night
before. Tonight there was no rain. There was barely a breeze as he ran
alongside his pack.

"Are you all right, love?" He hoisted her higher up his
abdomen.

"I don't know." Her soft voice ruffled against his ear.
"I'm...I suppose I'm nervous."

Mace clenched his jaw. Is this when she changed her mind? He
couldn't say he hadn't seen it coming. However, her anxiety was irrelevant.
Weres mated for life. She'd have to accept that. But for now he'd allow her to
think she had a choice in the matter. It would make their lives easier. "Do you
wish to stop?"

"Only for a moment. So I can stretch."

"Of course." He carefully set her on the ground and called
for his pack and Saul to continue without them. They'd most likely need some
time alone.

Her cheeks were rosy and her green eyes glistened as she
looked up at him and gave him a brave smile. So lovely and sweet. She licked
her plump lips, swiped loose curls from her cheek and perched her tiny hands on
her waist.

God, she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen.

His cock grew stiff at just the sight of her. And her eyes dipped
to watch as he grew hard for her.

"Mace." She quickly met his gaze again and drew out a long
breath. "Here?"

He grinned. "Anywhere."

She let out a heartfelt laugh and the tense lines in her
forehead eased. "You're insatiable."

"Only for you."

Her smile twisted anxiously. "I want to tell you something,
Mace. Before we go any farther."

"There's no need. There's only our destiny. We move forward
and never look back. That's all there is to do, love."

"Love." Her lips flattened and her eyes lost their sparkle.
"Why do you call me that? Do you, you know, do you feel that way for me?"

"Isn't that obvious?" he asked too sharply.

She took a step back as if he'd slapped her.

Hell. What was his problem? Why couldn't he just say the
damn words? He knew they mattered to a woman like Nayla. They'd mattered to his
wife so many years ago. He'd said them freely and often back then. Until she
lay on her deathbed.

"I suppose we don't have to speak about this now. You
probably have a lot on your mind." She straightened her dress and looked toward
the trees. "I was only curious."

Mace opened his mouth to speak, to force out the words that
teased the tip of his tongue, but stopped when a strange scent seized his
attention. He jerked his head to the right then the left. Where was it coming
from? Why hadn't he heard footsteps? Had he been so wrapped up in this woman
he'd missed something? Damn.

No breeze meant the scent was near.

Too near.

He looked back at Nayla and saw that she'd taken steps away
from him. "Nayla." He moved toward her, to grab her and run.

"Stop right there." Fenton stepped out from behind a tree
like a panther in the night and captured Nayla in his arms. A knife pressed to
her neck. "I'll kill her if you try anything, Were."

He'd kill her anyway.

Nayla sensed it deep in her bones. Fenton's fury was a
tangible force, evil and barely contained. His body shook as he held her to his
chest, the blade jabbing too roughly against her skin. A thick drip of blood
sloped down her neck and puddled at her collarbone.

She didn't dare breathe or move, even though her racing
heart demanded it. Instead, she concentrated on Mace. The moon glistened
against the whites of his eyes and cast shadows down his face. His fists
clenched and unclenched at his sides. Every muscle on his naked body was tense,
ready to pounce. He looked fierce and deadly.

It was no wonder Fenton shook. The bastard was going to die
tonight. Whether she lived or not, Mace would surely kill him. With his bare
hands, no doubt.

She took a small satisfaction in that thought. Her life
would end but Mace wouldn't be harmed. He was immortal and powerful. What was
Fenton thinking?

"You'll drop your weapon." Mace's voice was deep and
menacing, alarming even to her ears. "You'll let Nayla go free and unharmed and
I won't torture you before I kill you. It's your choice."

The blade sliced deeper as Fenton tensed but Nayla bit back
a scream. Oddly, it frightened her more than it hurt. Was she ready to die?
Would this moment be her last? She'd only now dared to question the need to
give up happiness to fulfill her destiny. With Mace, she could have everything
she'd ever wanted but hadn't had the courage to ask. But did she deserve joy
and love? Or was her fate to follow her mother and father?

No. Not yet. She wasn't ready. Please, God, not yet.