Primal Desires (10 page)

J
ason stood outside Sofia's room for a few minutes before he knocked. He would have heard her frustrated shout even if his hearing wasn't better than a mortal's.

She flung the door open with such force that it bounced against the wall and flew back to hit her in the shoulder. “Ow! Don't you understand the word
leave
?”

Despite Sofia's very real fury, her eyes were happy to see him. He refrained from kissing her, putting his hands behind his back to fight other temptations as well.

“I do understand, and I will go,” he told her. “I need to explain something first. May I come in?”

“No.”

Had he been the traditional vampire of fiction, that one word would have kept him from crossing her threshold. He stepped inside.

“I want to tell you something.”

She backed up, and he saw her considering throwing the phone in her hand at him. Instead, she tossed it on the bed and rested her fists on the lovely curve of her hips. She'd gotten dressed, which he thought was a pity since he loved her naked body. Still, her tank top did a very nice job of outlining her bosom and slender waist.

“If you're done looking at my rack,” she said after a long pause and a significant rise in the room's temperature, “I suggest you say what you have to and go.”

“I'll never be done looking at you,” he told her.

His response caught her between a smile and a grimace and he took another step closer.
Stop that bonding!
he ordered himself.

Jason forced down the lust and said, “I want to explain to you why I'm protecting you and teaching you, and generally interfering in your life.”

“It's something about keeping a promise, right?”

“I'm a Prime of my word.”

“What the hell's a Prime, anyway?”

“First things first.”

With that, he moved forward and touched her.

• • •

“This month has to be better than last month,” Jason said to Grigor. “We lost three during the last moonchange, and I'm sorry for it.”

“What an odd Prime you are,” was Grigor's answer. “Those beasts could never live as men; I'm not sorry for their deaths.”

“I don't mind killing,” Jason said. “I relish what I can do to the enemy. But I do hate having to destroy those who have already been victimized.”

Grigor nodded. “My father made a wise choice when he chose to reveal our secrets to you.”

“I may be a friend, but I'm not as effective an ally as I'd like to be.”

“You've been a great help in training the ferals. I'm certain Maria and Yaros will be able to control the change on their own this month. We'll find out come sunset, I suppose.”

Tonight was the first night of the full moon. Jason had been with the Hunyara for three months now.

“And,” Jason continued, “my most pressing concern is that I didn't get all of the Nazi bastards responsible.”

“We burned down the camp, and the bodies of every German that was there.”

Jason nodded. “But partisan intelligence thinks that the top-ranking officers weren't in camp that night. I didn't notice any of the bodies wearing a uniform with a higher rank than captain.”

“Half of them were in their pajamas.” Grigor chuckled. “Though I suppose German officers would be the sort to wear their medals to bed.”

“I'm not sure the civilian scientists were—”

“You have trouble, my friend,” Grigor's father said as he came into the hut.

Jason knew instantly that he wasn't talking about werewolves. “He's found me.” He stood. “I have to go. I'm sorry, but I can't be of any more help to you.”

“You don't think we can stand against a vampire?” Grigor asked.

“No, you can't. And there is no reason for you to. I won't put anyone else in harm's way because of something I did.”

“Very noble,” Grigor said, putting a hand on Jason's shoulder. “Are you sure you're not a Clan Prime?”

He shook his head. “I almost wish I was. Then maybe I wouldn't be in so much trouble. How close is he?” he asked the Rom patriarch.

“I've had my people searching for a vampire's scent since you arrived and today is the first sign we've had. How he got this close without our knowing, I don't know. I wanted to give you an early warning.”

“I'm grateful.”

“After all the help you've been to us, do you think we'd let you just run?” Grigor asked. “We've planned for this.”

Jason was appreciative of his friends' loyalty and kindness, but he had no intention of putting them in danger. “It's only an hour until sunset. I better go.”

“You can't travel now,” Grigor protested.

“It's a cloudy day and the woods are thick,” his father said. “If you're careful, you'll be all right, Jason.” He spoke to Grigor. “We'll set up our ambush to cover Jason's retreat.”

Jason looked from one Rom to the other in shock. They looked back with stubborn determination. He knew they couldn't stop a vampire, and so did they. He also knew arguing with them would do no good. There was no way he could express the gratitude that filled him.

“What's your plan?” Jason asked.

“To buy you as much time as we can,” Grigor answered. “Come nightfall and the moonchange, we'll set the German ferals free on your hunter. If he kills them, he'll be doing us a favor.”

The enemy soldiers who'd allowed themselves to be bitten by captured werewolves and brought out of the camp with the rest of the moonchanged pack weren't interested in the training the Hunyara and Jason offered. The Hunyara were being kinder to these prisoners than the Germans had been to them, but kindness could only go so far during wartime.

“Crazed ferals won't slow a vampire down for long,” Grigor went on. “But the sane members of the pack can lead him on a long dance after the ferals have tired him out a bit.”

“We'll give you at least a few hours' start,” the old man said.

“I'll take whatever you can give me,” Jason answered. “And I want you to know that if you ever need my help again, I'll do whatever I can for your people.”

Both men nodded, solemnly accepting this offer.

With that, Jason gave them each a quick hug, put on his heavy, hooded coat, and stepped out into the excruciating light of day.

Y
ou were being chased by a vampire?”

He ignored her skepticism. “That's not the point.”

This man kept showing her the craziest things, but what the hell did it all mean? “Why were you being chased by a vampire?”

He brushed his thumbs across her temples. “I was being chased by a vampire cop, if you must know.”

Sofia tried to take this in, and not be distracted by his gentle touch. “I'm still not sure I believe in werewolves; now you're adding Dracula to the mix. Why was Dracula after you?”

“His name is Matthias, not Vlad Dracul, and your family put themselves at risk to keep him from capturing me.”

“But why…?”

He sighed. “Because I did the wrong thing for the right reasons. The point is, I wanted you to know why I'm protecting you, why I'm training you. I made a promise to the Hunyara and I keep my promises.”

She understood why he would be indebted for their trying to keep him from being captured, but he seemed to expect her to find her family's behavior admirable.

Sofia shook her head.

“You don't get it, do you?” she asked Jason. “You were a fugitive, and they helped you avoid capture. People who commit crimes are not sexy outlaw heroes—they are evil. People who help them are wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! I don't care that you're sworn to protect me now, because they helped you then. It's not my job to give you redemption, or pay your blood debt.”

Jason took a step back. “Whoa. You don't have to be so melodramatic about it.”

“I'm Rom and Hispanic—drama comes naturally.” Actually, she'd been living a quiet life and avoiding drama for years. Jason brought out the unwanted wilder side of her nature, which was another good reason to get him out of her life.

“Now that you know that I don't find your vows and crimes to be romantic, will you please leave?”

“Would it help if I told you your family's sacrifice didn't do me much good? Matthias caught up with me a week later, and I spent the next twenty years in prison.”

The shadow that came into his eyes when he told her this twisted her heart. No, no, no! She was not going to feel sympathy for any con. Or any ex-con, no matter how fascinating and sexy she found him to be.

“Stop trying to manipulate me.”

He sighed. “Point taken. That wasn't fair.”

“Besides, don't you have to go feed your wolves, or something?”

“Thank you for thinking about them.”

He seemed genuinely pleased, and when he touched her cheek, the ice around her heart nearly melted.

“All right, all right, I'm going,” he said after they stood looking at each other for an unknown time.

The next thing Sofia knew, Jason was gone, but she had no memory of his leaving her room. She didn't remember the kiss either, but she still felt the effects of it, from the tingling top of her head to her toes curled on the thin motel carpet.

“Whew.” She touched her sensitized lips and sat weakly on the bed. Only when her hand brushed across the cell phone there did she recall what she should be doing.

“Sorry, Cathy,” she murmured contritely. “With that man around, I can't seem to keep my mind on your emergency.”

• • •

Cathy shut her mouth. Her panicked scream didn't last more than a few seconds but left her terribly embarrassed. Werewolves might howl occasionally, but Cathy hated being caught screaming like a girl.

So she glared at the captors staring at her and asked, “How the hell did he do that?”

Eric smiled at her with proprietary pride. “It's your right to know, Hunyara.”

“My name's Carter,” she said as the feral changed back into human form with the same ease as when he'd become a wolf.

This time she didn't scream, but she did watch his transformation carefully. Somehow her muscles seemed to almost understand the process. She'd never had this response when watching any of the Bleythin brothers change their form. She needed to learn this! She needed time to think about it, and to practice. She had to get out of this cage.

She looked to Eric. Damn, but she hated asking anything of this bastard. “Tell me.” She wasn't quite ready to say “Show me.”

He still regarded her with that smug smile. “Research has revealed that, like any mortal, those with the Hunyara mutation must first be bitten to activate the changes that make you special. Once bitten—”

“Twice shy,” she grumbled.

His smile widened somehow, and he made a gesture with his empty hand that took in her whole form like a distant caress. The naked guy looked her over as well, his eyes shining with hunger. Her hackles would have risen were she in wolf form. Still, she was unbearably curious.

Eric sensed her interest. “Can you guess why the Hunyara are different? Do you want me to tell you?”

The other feral's hand landed on Eric's shoulder. He seethed with impatience. “What about the other female?”

“Soon,” Eric told him. His gaze never left Cathy.

Cathy finally gave in to that look. “Go on. Please.”

“Vampires,” he answered. She gaped, and he laughed. “Yes, you have vampire blood in you as well as werewolf.”

“Not possible,” she said.

“Vampires mate with mortals.”

“Yeah.” Among her friends and coworkers were Laurent and Eden, a vampire and mortal couple. “But vampires do not mate with werewolves.” She wrinkled her nose. “That would just be wrong.”

She'd never been attracted to any vampire she'd met, and both Sid and Joe had told her that it wasn't possible for the two of them to be more than just good friends. Really, really good friends who gave each other longing looks when the other wasn't looking, from what she'd observed.

“The researchers want more proof,” Eric went on, “but we think that once upon a time a vampire and a werewolf produced a child and began the Hunyara line.”

“I realize you're trying to impress your future mate,” the shifter said. “But I came here to collect the second female.”

“I know,” Eric said, and flipped open the cell phone. “You have quite a few voice mails,” he told Cathy. “The natural-borns are quite anxious to have you back under their influence.”

“You mean my friends are worried about me.”

“Your cousin certainly is. Sofia has left as many messages as all the others put together. Family is so important, isn't it?”

Cathy sneered, “I suppose the plan is for me to call Sofia so you can lead her into a trap. I don't care what you threaten me with, but I won't do that to family.”

Eric shook his head. “Trust you with a telephone? I don't think so.” He began pressing buttons on the cell phone's keypad. “Not when text messaging can be used to trap her instead.”