Wild Hearts (Blood & Judgment #1) (19 page)

I’d been planning on chilling in the room he’s currently blocking the way to. Urgh. Whatever. I’ll just go and find another one.

“Those two getting under your skin?” he asks, before I can turn to walk away.

His eyes stray to my boobs for a brief second, before quickly making their way back to my face. Huh. It seems like he’s at least trying not to look this time. Progress, I guess.

“No.” I study him for a second. He seems really uneasy and I can sense the jealousy radiating off him. “They’re bothering
you
, though.”

He stares at me for a moment and then he asks, “You want a drink?”

“I’m good.” I shake my head and start to walk away.

“Better liquor’s in here.”

I stop. I do need a damn drink. Or several. I’m really worked up from wolfing out back at that hotel, for the first time in months. Alcohol will help to take the edge off.

I walk back to the door. “All right.”

He smiles and then steps aside to let me in ahead of him.

I slump down on the nearest couch. It’s fancy. Some antique-looking, high-backed crimson thing with gold edging. Wow, it’s comfortable.

“Here,” Jacob says.

His speed startles me and I look up to see him standing over me with a drink held out.

“How did you—?”

“Magic.”

Right. Of course. Why do anything the slower, non-magical way, right?

I take it from him and he sits down beside me with his own drink.

“So, what’s it like?” he asks.

“What?”

“Holding the wolf back. Does it hurt?”

I shrug. “It burns, yeah. Depends how long I go without wolfing out. How intense the situation is that I find myself in when I’m trying to hold it back.”

“Huh,” he says, seemingly surprised. “Well, does it hurt now? You wolfed out recently, right? Draven told me. As it’s been a while, does it want to…come out again…right away? You know, kinda like feeding an addiction?”

I turn to him, frowning. “Why are you asking about my wolf?”

His eyes do that perverted sweep over me again.

The next thing I know, his hand is skimming my leather pants, sliding up my right thigh.

Shit.

The contact fires me up instantly.

It’s not about him. Hell, it could be anyone right now. It’s just as he said. Like an addiction. Now, that I’ve let the wolf free after all this time, she wants to come out again. And it’s more than a little trying holding it back this time.

“I’ve heard that
physical
activity can help to sate it,” he says, in a low, seductive voice that’s almost hypnotizing.

I slap his hand away and chug some of my drink. “Alcohol also helps.”

He shifts closer so our legs are touching.

An unwanted gasp escapes me.

He leans in and whispers, “You need release, sweet wolf. Let me help with that. Just relax and let me pleasure you.”

“Stop,” I fight to get out. He’s so close, overwhelming my senses and preying on my weakness.

His fingers slide into my hair and he angles my head, making me look him in the eyes. I can feel his heat. I can smell his desire. It’s…it’s too much. I can’t think. Shit.

He smiles slyly. “Mmm…I know you want this.” He leans in to kiss me.

Aria. You are in danger?

What the hell?

“Cahl?”

“What?” Jacob says, drawing back. “I’m
Jacob
.”

I push him back. “I’m not talking to—”

Tell me. I am sensing your struggle for control.

What the fuck is this? How is…how is he doing this?

“Shh,” Jacob tells me, his hands on either side of my face now.

I snap back into focus to see him leaning in to kiss me again.

“No, Jacob,” I say, weakly.

In the next second, an arm wraps around my waist from behind and lifts me off the couch. I scream from the shock of it.

How did I not sense the approach?

A blast of black magic hits Jacob in the chest, propelling him into the far wall several feet across the room. He curses as he ricochets off it and lands hard on his stomach.

I turn my head to see Cahl holding me. Of course! He must’ve blocked my wolf senses with his magic again.

“How did you escape?” I gasp in shock.

He doesn’t answer.

His focus is all on Jacob. I turn back to see that he’s now on his feet and glowering at Cahl. He flicks his wrists down and calls his magic, blue fire sparking to life on his palms. Just like his brother’s. Maybe a little dimmer and less vibrant, actually.

“She is not to be touched,” Cahl’s deep voice booms in warning.

“She wanted it. Needed it. The wolf needed—”

“You were taking advantage of her predicament,
boy
.”

“Boy?” Jacob hisses. “I am a powerful warlock.”

“You are weak with much to learn.”

Jacob shifts his weight. “Let’s see, shall we?”

Cahl lowers me to the floor and gently ushers me behind him. What the hell? “Cahl. Stop. I’ve got this. I can take care of myself.”

He completely ignores me and steps forward.

Jacob makes a move to fire his magic, but Cahl shocks us both with his incredible speed. He fires a bolt of black magic so fast that Jacob has no time to react before it slams into him and rips him off his feet. He crashes into the huge fireplace, the impact taking a huge chunk out of it.

Wow.

My wolf senses alert me to the sound of heavy, hurried footsteps on the stairs down the hall. But I push it aside. My focus is on this insane fight.

As Jacob tries to shake off the chunks of stone covering him, he takes a sudden, underhanded shot at Cahl.

Cahl’s hand shoots out and
catches
the bolt of fire. He glares at Jacob menacingly as he closes his fingers around it and snuffs it out as if it’s nothing. Holy crap.

“Do you need further demonstration?” Cahl threatens, taking another step forward.

“That won’t be necessary,” Draven says, striding into the room quickly, his own magic at the ready.

Ember is right behind him. She must’ve just stepped out of the shower, as she’s fiddling with the belt of the black silky robe wrapped around her. Hmm…it looks like Draven didn’t join her after all, as he’s still dressed to the nines in his same designer suit from earlier and completely dry.

“What the hell happened?” she exclaims, as she examines the mess that is Jacob. Her eyes widen as she takes in the fireplace and the two walls that now have huge chunks taken out of them.

“This maniac Ambassador scum attacked me,” Jacob cries, looking to his big brother for support.

“She is not to be touched,” Cahl booms, making another move to step forward.

Instinctively, I throw out my hand in an attempt to hold him back. I hiss as my arm brushes his right hand that’s still live with magic.

He calls his magic back in a split second and then takes hold of my hands. “You must learn to be careful around magical energy, princess.” He glances at the burn on my arm, his eyes wild and full of concern. “I am sorry,” he says, his voice thick with regret. He’s like a gentle giant, his six-five, muscular frame towering over me. “Let me heal you.”

“Uh…no. It’s fine…it’s…look…it’s healing already.”

“Princess?” Ember questions. “Seriously?”

I pull my hands from Cahl and turn back to see Ember, Draven and Jacob all eyeing us incredulously.

“What the fuck is going on here?” Ember demands, glaring at Cahl.

“You dare to address
me
, Tainted beast?” he says, with disgust. “I can sense the energy of those you have recently murdered from where I stand.”

Ember takes a step forward, vamping out, flashing her fangs and claws at him. “Why, you sanctimonious fuck! I can
smell
the ash and blood of those
you
have killed recently.”

Draven is there in a second, erecting some sort of shimmering magical barrier between her and Cahl.

“Ember, please remain calm so we can resolve this promptly,” he tells her. Before she can get another word out, Draven rounds on Jacob and demands, “Did you touch Aria?”

Jacob shrugs unapologetically. “She was up for it.”

“What?” Ember snarls.

“Jealous?” Jacob throws at her.

“How dare—?”

“Enough!” Draven bellows, the room vibrating with the fury of his magical energy. He glares hard at Jacob. “Aria is wolf. She recently shifted after many months of repressing it. She has great trouble controlling it. What you did was manipulative and reprehensible, and you have put
my
Coven in great danger. You will not go near her again.”

Jacob moves to argue, but Draven lunges at him and fists his hand in his shirt. “You just risked unleashing the wolf
and
the wrath of Cahl
on my Coven
. Do you understand that he escaped, because of
your
misguided actions?”

“What? I have nothing to do with him escaping,” Jacob cries. “Maybe your magic wasn’t strong enough to hold an Ambassador Commander, huh?”

Draven’s eyes narrow at the insinuation that he’s not powerful enough. “Wrong, as usual. He has a connection to Aria’s wolf. He sensed her predicament,
meaning
, dear brother, that it must have been on the verge of release! You fool! Her wolf could rip this place apart, you included!”

Wow, okay. Just talk about me as if I’m not even here then. Argh!

Draven releases him roughly and tells him in a low, menacing tone. “It is obvious what has spurred your actions tonight, so know this: Ember is
mine
. You may have had a taste, but that will be all. You will not go near her again. Or Aria. Your jealousy and immature actions do not have a place here. Now get out of my sight.”

Jacob storms to the door, skillfully avoiding my glare and Cahl’s, but serving Ember with an angry scowl before he finally disappears down the corridors, cursing everything and everyone.

Ember runs her fingers through her hair, her claws still out in her agitation. “You said Cahl
sensed
Aria was in trouble?” she asks Draven. “That there’s a connection between them powerful enough to…what…break through
your
magic?” she asks with disbelief.

“Only because I wasn’t anticipating it,” Draven tells her, stiffening and clearly not happy about his power being called into question. Wow, what an egomaniac.

Ember demands angrily, “That asshole brutally stabbed me not long ago! Lock him back up, Draven. If you don’t, I will end him. He’s one of them! For fuck’s sake, can no one else recognize that anymore?”

“I am no longer serving the Jurisdiction, vampire,” Cahl tells her.

She scoffs. “Oh, really? So, what? You spend your whole life taking their orders and you get one look at Aria’s mystical tits and all that’s over with? You’re suddenly on our side?”

“Ember!” I growl. How dare she talk about me like that? “Watch your goddamn mouth.”

“Instead of wishing for more enemies, you should do yourself a favor and accept a new ally, especially one possessing my power. You are already at a disadvantage. The Jurisdiction’s resources exceed yours by far.”

Draven steps forward and asks Cahl, “Why did you defect?”

“I have recently discovered that the truths I had believed in were merely lies masquerading as such.”

“But you’re bound by duty. How are you able to leave?”

“I am not. When word travels of my betrayal, I will be marked for death.”

“Right,” Ember cuts it. “So, you’re risking death for someone you barely know. This is all bullshit!”

I growl at Ember, getting pissed that she won’t shut the hell up and just listen, so that we can get to the bottom of all of this.

“Shh,” Cahl says. “The wolf is at the surface. You need to calm.”

I hold up my hands and blow out a breath. “It’s okay. I’m fine. I have it locked down.”

He points to me as he tells them, “I have defected because of what
she
is.”

“Because her mother was one of your kind?” Ember queries. “I’ve got news for you: so was mine and so was Draven’s.”

“Her mother was Alessandra, Queen of the Realm.”

“What?” I choke out. “Queen?”

“Yes.”

“So…you…you did know her?”

“Yes, princess.”

“Do you know…do you know how she…died?”

He nods.

When he doesn’t elaborate, I demand, “How? Tell me.”

“Now is not the forum for such a discussion.”

“What? That makes no sense.”

“We are discussing whether or not I am truly your ally, yes? The rest is personal information that is not part of the agenda of this impromptu discussion.”