A Destiny Revealed (9 page)

“If you think we're spared, then you're not as smart as I
thought you were. The bond between mates is total. When my mate hurts, so do I.
Everything he feels, I feel. Trust
me,
it's no walk in
the park for the female.” Zahra told him.

Once their beast picked a mate, it was for life. If they are
separated from their mates the restlessness, the yearning could make life hard
for the warrior.

“I’m sorry. I guess I never thought of it from the female
perspective.”

“It'll work itself out, Bron. Just get her here. The rest
will fall into place." She sipped at her coffee dismissing his worries.

 Kissing her cheek, Bron stood and walked from the
room. Bakari stopped him on his way out. Bron saw his expression and dreaded
the conversation he knew was coming.

“I need to speak with you.” Bakari pulled him from earshot
of the oracle.

“Yes, Ijoye?”
Caution kept his tone
respectful. His heart stopped when Bakari opened his fist and revealed a
diamond nestled in his palm. It was cut into a square and filled the Ijoye’s
palm.

“As long as she is Ajo she poses a risk to the Oracle. Zahra
must be protected at all costs, Bron. You know that.” The Ijoye placed the diamond
in Bron’s palm and wrapped his fingers around it. “All you have to do is place
this over her heart until it turns red. Her tattoos should fade if it’s done
correctly.”

“I know how it's
done,
I was once
allowed to hunt.” Fury was an acrid taste in his mouth.

The Ijoye stiffened, his eyes hardened. Bron ignored the
look, feeling the stone like a heavy weight on his heart. He knew what had to
be done. It irritated him, that this woman he knew nothing about could make him
dread his duty to the tribe.

“And for the record I would never do anything to endanger
Zahra.” Bron sidestepped around the Ijoye, angry at the doubt he saw in his
leader’s eyes. Bakari stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Bron shook off
his leader’s hand. He didn’t want to hear anymore.

Regardless of what the Ijoye said, part of Bron’s magic was
seeing past the words and guile, and deep down he could sense the distrust
Bakari felt.  He not only distrusted Dalia, but Bron himself, and that
just pissed him off. He'd done his duty for the tribe and suffered his
punishment for five hundred years. He didn't deserve distrust from his leader.

 Some part of him whispered that his attraction to
Dalia could be seen as a betrayal to the tribe, but he pushed that thought
aside. As the oracle said, he couldn't do anything about the person his beast
chose to mate with.

Changing his mind about going back to his room, he rushed
down the hallway and out the back door calling his power to the surface. His
body changed the moment the early morning air hit him. Fur rippled along his
arms, his muscles and bone contorted as his animal pushed forward gladly. 
In his lion form he raced through the woods surrounding the safe house. He gave
himself over to his beast and with a loud roar he ran off his frustration. An
hour or so later, sides heaving he sat down and changed back into his human
form.

“I’ve always admired how easy you made that look.” Fynn
leaned casually against a tree, watching him.

“Leave me, Fynn.”

 Ignoring him, Fynn moved to sit next to him, tossing
Bron a water bottle. “Don't let the Ijoye get to you Bron, it’s his job to
worry.”

 Bron was silent a moment as he thought over the
Ijoye’s words. “I would never do anything to harm your mate.”

“To be honest with you
baba
, I don't want the Ajo anywhere
near my mate.” Fynn held up his hand to stop Bron from interrupting. “But, I
trust you with my life and that of my mate.” He eyed the man he considered his
father with a frown on his face.

“I didn't expect this to be so complicated. I feel like my loyalty
is being tested.”

“The fact that you are so torn about it lets me know Dalia
is more to you than just a task." His voice invited Bron to open up.

“She's my mate.” The words fell between them, their impact
sinking into Bron.

Fynn stiffened in alarm. “Well, that certainly complicates
things. I'll work on the Ijoye. You work on making it safe for your mate to
come here.” Fynn stood, brushing the leaves from his pants. He left Bron in
peace.

Bron sat for a moment longer going over his dilemma. He
breathed deep pulling in the morning air, allowing the peaceful morning to calm
him. Everything circled back to him taking the Ajo powers from Dalia. What
would he do if she refused?

Chapter 9

DALIA STARTED HER EVENING with her body feeling better than
it had for a while. It was as though the injuries from the night before did not
exist. She grudgingly gave Bron some credit for that. His blood was more
powerful than anything she'd ever consumed. She tentatively reached out for
him.

'Yes, rewà?'
Bron answered
her call and his voice moved through her body in a warm tide.

'You keep calling me that, what does it mean?'

'
Beautiful.'

She quickly squashed the pleasure the small compliment gave
her.

'Did you want something?'
His voice was husky, a sure
sign, he knew what he did to her.

'Nothing, I only wanted to know what time we could get
together and talk tonight.'
She wanted more answers from him, it didn’t
hurt that she also got to spend time with him.

'Since you're up, we can meet now.'
He gave her no
more warning than that before he knocked on the door.

She rolled her
eyes,
she should
make him stew out there. Shaking her head, she opened the door and stepped
aside to allow him to enter. The corner of her mouth turned up at the smile he
gave her as he walked into the room. There was something sexy about this man
and she was finding it hard to resist him.

“You didn’t give me time to answer.” She crossed her arms
over her chest.

“I was already here when you called.” He shrugged his
shoulder unrepentant.

“Too bad, I have to feed, so you need to leave.” She held
the front door open.  She warmed at his silent perusal of her body.
Wearing only a pair of boyshorts and a tank top, she should've felt exposed.
But, her muscles were honed from years of training and hunting, she showed no
modesty as he continued assessing her. Lean and fit, she was obsessive about
keeping in fighting shape. Okay, yeah, she had a bit of an ego, but a girl
couldn't make it without knowing her worth.

She met his stare head on when he finally reached her eyes.
His lips curled up in a crooked smile that Dalia was beginning to enjoy way too
much. She blew out a breath of impatience when he made no move to leave.
Ignoring him completely, she sauntered to the small closet in the corner and
pulled clothes from there. She went behind the curtain separating her bathroom
and changed. When she stepped from behind the curtain a small curl of
satisfaction flowed through her at his in drawn breath.

Bron watched her with hooded lids, his hunger for her
apparent. She wore a pair of tight fitted leather shorts and tight t-shirt that
should have covered more but was cut in strategic places to allow little peaks
of her bronzed skin underneath. His fingers twitched and he curled them into
fist.

“I'll meet you at the cantina where you found me last
night.” She took pleasure in his attraction to her. It served him right for
making her burn to have his touch.

“You can feed from me, Dalia.”

 She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a
sitter, Bron. I'll meet you there in a half hour, ‘kay.” She wiggled her
fingers in goodbye and teleported from the room.

Dalia strutted down the path between the grocery store and
the tourist shop behind the cantina scanning the crowd for someone to feed
from. Bron was crazy if he thought she would continue to feed from him. That
was just asking for trouble. She rolled her head around to loosen the tension
in her shoulder. That man should not be loosed on the female population; his
voice alone was a menace. She spotted prey lounging in the back of the grocery
store, sneaking a smoke. Beckoning him, Dalia felt her incisors lengthen in
anticipation. A strong flare of power filled the path and she clucked her teeth
in aggravation. She didn’t bother turning to find the source. She lazily waved
the human away from her. Eyes wide, the man took off at a jog.

“What part of my statement did you not understand,
rewà
?”
Bron called out.

 Dalia shivered as his voice wrapped itself around her.
She noticed a few women turn around in interest and narrowed her eyes at them,
warning them away. She turned to face him and her knees nearly went weak. His
eyes were dark, his expression equally so, as he stalked to her. Power radiated
from him, drawing her like the proverbial moth to a flame.

“You don’t give me orders,” she challenged him, raising her
chin.

Bron hissed in anger.  “You will feed only from me,
Dalia. I don’t want to have to repeat that.”

A warning, one she had no intention of heeding.

Her own anger ignited and a pulse of excitement shot through
her at the thought of battling him. Bron jerked her into his chest taking her
by surprise. His power surrounded her, the hair on the back of her neck stood
at attention. He pushed her head into his neck and his pulse called to her. Her
mouth watered.

“You are mine.” His voice was gravelly, deep.

Dalia’s eyes narrowed. She pushed against his chest and
staggered back. She barely knew
him,
he had no right to
lay any kind of claim on her. It was too bad she couldn't tell her heart that,
it jumped and stuttered in response to his claim. No need in trying to push
down the thrill rushing through her body.

“Get over it, big boy. You don’t own nada.” She tried to
turn and walk away, but he grabbed her. Before she could speak, his lips
crushed hers in a scorching kiss. Dalia couldn’t stop the moan that escaped as
she returned his kiss, her tongue tangling with his in an unspoken battle. His
kiss was possessive, territorial and it branded her soul. She lost herself in
the sensation, gasping when he pulled
back.        

“You will feed from me.” He pushed her head back into his
neck.

Spellbound from their kiss, fighting his command was
useless. She moved closer, drawing his scent deep into her senses. Her body
responded wildly. Her skin tightened, tingled even and her stomach contracted
with lust. It threw her off
kilter,
it'd been years
since she'd last been with a man. Had she ever responded this way? She licked
over his pulse, her body warmed in anticipation.

Hell no, never, no man had ever made her feel this way. She
bit down on his neck and the minute his blood flowed across her tongue she was
in ecstasy.

Bron sucked in his breath when her teeth broke skin. He moved
their bodies against the back of the grocery store into the shadows. Dalia was
charmed by the protective gesture. His erection pressed into her center as she
continued to feed. He growled low in his throat, leaning his head to give her
better access, grinding his body into hers.

His hands roamed her body, molding her to him. His thumbs
brushed across her breasts and her nipples tightened into points. She was happy
her mouth was occupied; otherwise she would have begged him to take her, here
in this alley. 

Dalia licked the wound close when she'd taken enough. She
moaned again at his taste. His power flowed through her body, further arousing
her. She licked his neck again, relishing the way his pulse jumped. She pulled
his skin into her mouth sucking on his neck, taking pleasure in his groans.
Bron responded by pulling her legs up and wrapping them around his waist. He
pushed his hips forward, grinding at her center and she cursed the shorts she
wore. She released his skin and placed a small kiss right below his jaw.

Greedy for more, Bron cupped her chin, kissing her deeply.
Once more Dalia felt the roller coaster from his kiss. She broke the kiss,
remembering where they were.

“Put me down, Bron.” Her voice was thick with arousal. “This
isn't the place for what we're doing.”

He stared into her eyes for a moment longer and Dalia felt
like he was reading her. He smiled suddenly and lowered her gently. He stole a
quick kiss and backed away from her.

“We should have that talk now.” His voice was a deep timbre.
He held out his hand for her. Dalia grabbed it easily.

“Don’t think you’re getting away with that little caveman
routine you just pulled. I’m a grown woman, I won’t be bossed around.” Her
raspy voice betrayed her feelings.

Bron chuckled, dropping her hand and wrapping his arm around
her waist to pull her closer. “Forgive me, I find I'm becoming quite possessive
of you.”

Bron laughed at her snort.

Dalia escorted him into the dark shack and he frowned, the
place could barely be called a restaurant. There were only a couple of
scattered tables throughout the room, all taken. There was a bar that lined
each wall, and it was near impossible to find a spot that was not crowded with
people. She smiled at the frown bunching his eyebrows. It was probably not a
place he would've chosen.

They walked to a dark corner and moved into the first
available spot. She ran his comment around in her head. He had no right to be
possessive of her and she shouldn't be excited and turned on by it. She took
note of the way the women in the place watched him, and fought the urge to do a
little claiming of her own. A waitress eyeing Bron rushed quickly to them.
Dalia raised her eyebrows as Bron spoke to the waitress in perfect Spanish.

“Your Spanish is good,” she complimented him.