To Love a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (69 page)

I wasn’t special. I was the opposite, the only girl he knew he could get away with almost anything.

He had treated me like trash all those years ago and yet he only had to walk back into my life and I was already panting for his touch, my obsession nowhere cured by my hatred.

“
I hate you.
” I hissed the words out, wishing I meant it as much as I wanted to mean it.

Something flashed in his eyes, one that almost made me feel guilty but I told myself I was being foolish. It was just Luka with his ever manipulative ways.

“Because I foolishly endangered your life?” he asked.

I laughed mirthlessly. “Oh, come on, Luka, do we have to play this game?”

“I’m not playing any fucking game—”

“Then don’t fucking lie!” If I had one of my hands free, I would have slapped him. “Just once, just one fucking time will you admit it to me and give me some fucking closure?
You were my best friend,
” I lashed out in a hurt, furious whisper.

Luka flinched.

“You were like a brother to me,” I said brokenly, “A kindred soul even though we’re completely different. You made me think you loved me back, but you didn’t. You threw me away so easily. You
killed
me when you let me beg even knowing—”

“Stop.” Luka released my hands. I tried to scramble away, but he had imprisoned me in his arms, his lips taking mine for a kiss.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered harshly against my lips as he cupped my face. He took my lips again with his, but this time my tears flavored our kiss. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, his voice raw with emotion I couldn’t name.

Luka pulled away, his beautiful face tense but pale as he gazed at me with bitter regret in his eyes. “I thought I was doing it for your own good.”

I shook my head wildly. “Don’t treat me like a fool—” Again, I struggled to be free from his hold but Luka’s strength kept me chained in place.

“Caylie
,
stop struggling!”

“Then strop treating me like I’m an idiot!” I screamed. “I had it with you and all your stupid lies and pretensions! You may be the fucking smartest Caro that ever lived, but I
hate
you.”

Luka’s face was ashen. “Don’t say that.”

 I hate you so fucking much—”

“Stop saying that—”

I hit my chest with my fist, my emotions out of control. “If I could give this body you’re so obsessed with to any other man right now, I would!” I screamed at him. “I’ll let another guy fuck—”

The rest of my scream died in my throat as Luka snatched me back into his arms, silencing me with a ravaging kiss that left no doubt of his mastery over my senses. I tried, oh, how I tried to ignore the pull of his heated passion but it was impossible.

“You’re mine,” he growled as his hands cupped both my breasts and squeezed hard. “Every inch of this is mine and if you ever let another man touch even a single strand of your hair—”

Luka’s violet eyes turned midnight black in an instant.

“You. Are. Mine.” He bent close and sucked on my lower lip hard the same time one of his hands trailed down and cupped me between my legs before squeezing again, his thumb finding my clit and flicking it.

I gasped.

“Don’t ever forget that.” He let me go, and I shrank back against the seat, exhausted and shaking. Our bodies swayed as the limo slid to a stop a moment later. The car door opened, and Luka stepped out first—but only after giving me one last warning look.

I came out next, a stiff smile on my face. Luka grasped my hand and helped me out. I wanted to pull away but managed not to, conscious of how everyone’s eyes were on us. I let him took the lead, my head still in a daze at what just happened. Even so, I noticed how women’s gazes trailed after him as we walked past them, their eyes turning red for a moment when they took in the seeming closeness between us.

The crowd of reporters seemed to have swelled even more, the bulbs seemingly more blindingly bright as well.

Luka’s arm curled around my waist as he pulled me closer.

“Give us a kiss and we’ll go away!” a reporter shouted, and the crowd roared its approval.

No
, my mind immediately shrieked but Luka was already turning us to face them once more.

“Is that so?” he asked.

“We promise!” the reporter yelled back.

I pasted another smile on my face while hissing to Luka, “Don’t you dare—”

Luka ignored me as his lips curved, sending a charming smile to the crowd that had more than one female reporter sigh loudly. I hated it.

And then he said calmly, “It’s a deal.”

My eyes flew to his in horror. It was one thing to flirt in private exclusive Caro parties, but it was another thing entirely to make out in national TV.

I said unsteadily, “Luka—”

His lips covered mine in the next instant, shutting me up effectively.

My eyes closed, toes curling as Luka let loose all his passion, drowning me in the heat of his touch. My body was moving on its own volition, arms creeping up to go around his neck as Luka devoured my lips and demolished what little of my common sense remained. His tongue pushed insistently against my lips until I opened my mouth, and his tongue darted in, teasing me with little circles before sweeping in to taste me completely.

When he pulled away, his eyes glittered, telling me without words that he had proven to us both I
was
his.

And then Luka was facing the crowd, gently reminding them about their promise. The reporters dispersed after throwing us good-natured jokes.

My mind was still a blank when Luka closed our front door behind me. “Caylie?”

I glanced at him, noting how utterly cool and in control he appeared. Why did our kiss not affect him the way it still had my knees shaking?

“Are you all right?”

I had to protect myself. This couldn’t go on. I might not desire revenge like I had before, but I
still
had to take it. Revenge was the only way I could keep myself safe and prevent myself from falling for the same tricks.

I managed a breezy smile. “I’m fine. I understand you had to do that little show for the press’ benefit. It was no big deal,” I finished with a lie, thankful that my voice didn’t shake at the end.

Luka’s eyes flashed. “No big deal,” he echoed after a beat.

I gritted my teeth, ready to snap at him but my words died when I heard rapid footsteps coming towards us, one light and another heavy. It was William and Catherine. My mother’s face was ecstatic, my father’s grim.

William didn’t waste time with preambles. “Did I hear you two right on TV? You are
engaged
?”

Luka

20 Months Ago

Domenico Moretti questioned his decisions as he climbed the last few icy steps that led to the snow-capped monastery that was one of the Caros’ greatest secrets—so much so that almost the entire race didn’t know about it.

The gargoyles gave the game away, though,
Domenico thought as he used the knocker to alert the insiders of his presence. For some reason, the Caros—a race known for its love for beautiful things—was also strangely fond of gargoyles. In fact, as far as he knew, they were the only ones who did. Not even the gargoyles’ closest kin, the
Vidange,
cared for them at all.

Hooded novices pulled the door open, their slim builds belying their true strength. He had the healthiest respect for the novices here, having once seen how they trained. In the early mornings, the first years were made to hunt cows and carry them on their own as they trekked all five-hundred steps that led to the monastery.

The novices giggled as Domenico Moretti walked past them, the same time Cayan came out from one of the hallways. She sighed. “You’ve bewitched my girls again.”

His green eyes were all wide and innocent. “I didn’t do a thing.”

“Hmph! You only have to flex those muscles of yours and women would come running. How Misty bears being married to you, I have no idea.”

“She loves me.”

“Hmph.”

“And I love her.”

“Hmph.”

“And I love to f—”

“Domenico.” She added a glare for good measure.

He laughed, a sinful sound that had the novices dawdling in the area sigh. Cayan sighed, but for a different reason.

When they entered her study, Domenico’s face was sober as he asked, “How is he?”

“A lot better than the others. I have hopes he will recover and learn to master his instincts.”

“But he is what you think he is?”

“Yes—and it’s not a bad thing.”

“It’s a bad thing if we lose him,” Domenico argued curtly. “I have few remaining allies left alive, Cayan. This one, I need badly for without him the triangle of power that the legends say of Caros won’t be born.” He gazed at the flames that danced in the cobbled fireplace. “And he’s a good boy,” he added gruffly.

“He does remind me of you when you were young.”

Domenico started to smile.

“Only, he is a lot less promiscuous than you were.”

Domenico’s smile vanished.

A sense of uneasy quiet followed, punctured by a menacing growl coming out from the dungeons below. “Is he really going to be fine?” he asked abruptly. “No fucking false hopes—just give it to me straight.”

“I can get rid of the symptoms here, Domenico, but it will be up to him when you take him back to the real world and he is once again exposed to the person who is making him turn.” A growl erupted from below once more, and Cayan briefly closed her eyes, hurting for the boy whose love threatened to turn him into a monster.

“One thing you must warn him from,” Cayan said haltingly. “He must
never
let the woman he loves stay with him out of guilt. If the love is not returned, if the love is feigned or forced—the seeds of self-destruction will still be sown.”

* * * *

          Present Time

“It’s a—” I began.

“—surprise, sir,” Luka smoothly interrupted even as a warning glint flashed in his gaze when he glanced at me. “Having nearly lost my life and then almost losing Caylie, I realized what was truly important to me and I just had to propose to Caylie.”

My eyes couldn’t stop blinking. Luka sounded so sincere I was
this
close to believing him.

William grunted. He was tall and dignified-looking, and once upon a time he had been one of Caros’ greatest soldiers. “My daughter is still too young in my opinion. I hope it’s a long engagement?”

“Absolutely,” Luka agreed.

Catherine clapped her hands. “Enough of that! As far as I’m concerned, this is a great reason for a celebration.” She let out a contented sigh. “I’ve always wanted you two to be together!”

I threw daggers at her with my eyes.

“Oh, don’t be so stuffy. It doesn’t suit you at all. I’ve always thought you had this little crush on Luka.”

I gasped. “I did not!”

Luka was smiling. “Did she?”

“No!”

“Yes,” Catherine confirmed and sighed again. “We have to have a party. I’ll contact your grandfather, Luka. Is that all right?”

“My grandfather will always be glad to hear from you,” Luka said warmly.

Catherine’s head bobbed in response. “Go on up now, you two. The press may have tired Caylie out.”

William’s eyes darkened. “Now that they’re engaged, I’m not sure—”

He couldn’t speak anymore, not with Catherine not so subtly stepping on his foot. Catherine flashed us another smile. “Go on, sweetheart. Rest.”

When Luka closed my bedroom door behind him, I immediately whirled around and demanded, “What the hell are you playing at, Luka? Why do we have to lie to my parents?”

“If they know this engagement is a sham, do you think your father’s pride would allow him to accept the Brethren’s protection? He wouldn’t feel entitled to it. You know that. But you also know they need protection as much as you do.”

The words made sense, but somehow I couldn’t keep myself from thinking that Luka was manipulating me for some reason.

“Rest now, Caylie,” he urged. “Stop worrying about things.”

I let him tuck me in bed. It was times like this, when he was back to being the old Luka I once knew, that made me want to cry and lash out at fate. Oh God of Caros, why? Why could I never have been enough for him?

I saw Luka about to touch my hair, or maybe my face, before freezing midway and finally letting his hand fall to his side. “What is it?” I asked with a confused frown.

Luka took a long time to answer. “Because…I saw how you looked at me.”

I turned my back to him on bed, letting him know wordlessly that I didn’t like where this conversation was going.

“Caylie…” Luka expelled a furious breath behind me. “I know you think I used you in the past to climb up in ranks, but I didn’t. I had to leave then. It was that or put you in danger.”

I bit my lip hard, trying to keep it from trembling. I willed my eyes not to let even a tear fall because Luka Georgiades did not deserve my tears any longer.

“I can’t explain why I did what I did, but Caylie…just think about it. Please just listen to what I’m saying.”

I didn’t answer.

“If I’m just a fraction of how fucking smart everyone say I am, do you really think I would have needed to use a sixteen-year-old girl to make my way up in the Brethren?”

* * * *

I called Sabina first thing the next day.

“We saw you on TV with Luka,” was the first thing Sabina told me.

Her cautious tone was more than enough to tell me I was right in calling her. Taking a deep breath, I asked, “Sabina, what were the rumors you heard about Luka?”

Sabina fell quiet.

“
Please.
I need to know.”

“Do you remember the legend about the twin princes?”

Frowning, I tried to recall the legend that Caro parents used to tell children about how vampires came to be. “They all died or they all turned into vampires.”

“They didn’t.”

“Umm, okay, but I don’t see what it has to do…”

“When the first prince realized the girl’s heart would never be his, he decided it would not belong to anyone else either. This selfishness became the seed of his self-destruction, his soul rotting without even having to take away the girl’s life. But because the girl was pure of heart, she came after him, wanting to save the first prince but it was too late. He had turned, and he hurt her for he no longer knew her.”

“When the second prince came and saw the girl he loved lying on the ground in a pool of her blood, vengeance became the seed of his self-destruction. As he started to turn vampire before her eyes, she offered him her love and what remained of her life freely. Her words reached him enough for the second prince to seek the sun. And in the presence of their selfless love, the seed of self-destruction withered and died.”

Sabina spoke every word softly, flatly, but I sensed the pain she was doing her best to hide. She spoke the words like she had spoken them a thousand times, like it was wish made upon a dying star.

“Sabina…”

Oh God of Caros, why do you have to make life so complicated for your children?

“I know you know that’s not how the story ends.”

 “I have always loved Phillip,” Sabina confessed rawly. “And I know he loved me. But it all changed when his brother…the woman he wanted spurned him, and he turned vampire. He killed her before taking his own life. The Brethren helped Phillip’s family to cover it up but after that, it was over for me, too—for us. Phillip became engaged with Luisa, and I’ve been left in a limbo.”

I could only clutch the receiver tightly, wishing there was something more I could do for my friend. All this time I had never realized, never even imagined it could be this hard for the two of them.

“I know I should give up on him, but I can’t. Ever since we broke up, I’ve done my best—I worked on all those seminars just so I could have money to spend to find a fucking cure, any fucking thing that could get me Phillip back. Finally, I got a tip that led me to a monastery…” She drew another shaky breath. “Caylie, the person I met there is a direct descendant of the second prince and the girl he fell in love with. Neither of them turned vampire. They had their happily ever after.”

I couldn’t help smiling when I realized what that meant for them. “Oh, Sabina, I’m glad. Does it mean you’re finally getting rid of Luisa?”

“I…hope so. The person I talked to told me it won’t work…that you can’t stop a Caro from turning vampire if it’s not true love on both sides, but I’m hoping…” Sabina paused. “Caylie, do you understand what this means for you?”