Wulf's Redemption (Borne Vampires Book 3) (27 page)

“I’m
fine. You?”
 

He
held up his hand, already healed. “I’m good.”

The
car came to a halt. Opening the door, Alex climbed out first, she followed. Surrounded
by vampire hunters, their machine guns aimed at them. Hatred spewed from the
humans, bore out of their eyes, their minds, their emotions. They wanted to
kill them, pour gasoline on their corpse and watch them burn into ash.

“Easy,
boys,” Winter held out his left hand to the humans, while resting the right on
the butt of his Eagle, “they are our guests.”

“They’re
vamps,” someone shouted. “Better to kill them now before they hurt us.”

“Harklee’s
orders were to bring them in. Back off and let me do my job.” Drawing his gun,
Winter motioned for Alex and her to walk in front of him, he eyed the others
warily as they made for the rundown mansion.

The
double doors opened and a stocky human in his early fifties exited. His dark
hair was silvered, the scars on his arms and face evidence he’d seen battle. At
his hip, sheathed in a worn scabbard was a machete. He sauntered to them, an
irritating smirk on his flat face. Never would she forget that smirk.

John
Harklee.

“Well,
well, well, Alexander Walker and Special Agent Kai Jordan. I never thought Sam
would survive trying to bring you in to me. Good job, Sam. I see a promotion in
your future.” Harklee clapped Sam on the back, not noticing how the taller man
gave him an arched look at his comment about not making it.

Alex
smiled tightly at Harklee. “Been seven years. How’s life treating you?”

“Been
better. How’s your ex-girlfriend’s visits to your family’s estate been going?
Has Lisle killed the gypsies squatting there yet?”

“Careful
what you say, hunter,” Alex warned. “Lisle has a nasty habit of turning up
unexpectedly and with terrible results. As your men found out when they
wandered onto my property. She could be out there,” he waved a hand at the
fields stretching out around the mansion, “right now, listening, waiting for
the perfect moment to attack us, to attack
you.
”

Not as cocky, Harklee put his hand on the hilt of
his machete. “I’m not the only one who lost men to that crazy bitch. I heard
Waters had a bad night. Lost a lot of men to the Wolf of Magdeburg. Convey my
gratitude to Mrs. Breber whenever you see her next. She’s making my job much
easier.”

“I shall. I’m quite certain Lisle will find it
amusing you think she’s assisting you. Now that we have the niceties out of the
way, what the hell do you want with us?”

“Excuse me; I need to send my men on patrol since
I had to turn off the UV floodlights. Can’t have Lisle wiping out the rest of my
men. Took a helluva long time to assemble a good team and don’t fancy building
another. Sam, monitor the cameras in the house.” Sam went inside as Harklee
shouted orders, sending the others scrambling to patrol the perimeter.

Harklee returned, rubbing his neck as he glanced
around him. “You’re right. No need to bullshit each other. I need a favor,
Walker.”

“What do you want?”

“I need to be converted.”

She shouldn’t have been surprised, except in light
of the recent attacks, she was. “Are you insane? Dude, you shot our plane down
in daylight, sent your men hunting us in the forests, and then had them attack
the gypsies! No freaking way are we gonna make you a vampire!”
 

Instead of being pissed, Harklee replied, “That
was before Lisle Breber returned home.”

“And you think turning vamp will keep you safe
from her?” Alex arched his eyebrow at the human. “You do know she feeds on her
own kind now?”

“What?” Harklee obviously hadn’t heard that bit of
information.

“Lisle killed Waters’ men tonight and fed on them.
He told me that she no longer seeks out humans, only the Damned.”

“I still want to be a vampire,” he said with
bullish determination he was famous for. “Make me one and I’ll share some
valuable information the King of the Borne. Something he would be
very
interested
in.”

“What kind of info?” She knew she should read his
mind but held back, not wanting to again, not after she had seven years ago.
His enjoyment of torturing vamps, raping them, burning them slowly and roasting
marshmallows over the flames, remained in her brain and she had a hard time
even looking at him.

Harklee grinned at her as he tapped his temple. “You’re
welcome to take a peak.”

Stepping up to him, she was a good nine inches
taller. A half smile curving her mouth to the side, she purred, “Human, are you
sure you want me inside your mind? I guarantee I’ll make it unpleasant for
you.”

His eyes went wide and his confidence slipped.
“Have you wondered why the Damned are so hot and bothered to kill Lisle and
need you to do it?”

She snorted. “Besides the fact they can’t control
her and she’s killing them for fun and food?”

Harklee leaned closer and said in low voice, “She
stole something from Angel.”

Kai looked askance at him. “Like what?”

“Something the Queen of the Damned covets and
she’s pissed it’s gone. Wants it back at any cost. Even if it means working with
the Slayers to get it back.”

“Rubbish,” Alex said gruffly. “If Lisle took
something that important from Angel, she’d be here hunting her down herself.
Let’s go, Kai.” He turned away, Harklee grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

“What Lisle stole is something that can turn the
tables on your war with the Damned. A weapon Angel searched three centuries
for.”

“How
do we know you’re telling the truth?” Alex demanded, shaking off Harklee’s
hand.

“Because
Kai Jordan can read my mind and can see the truth in here.”

“Kai,
can you find what he’s talking about in his head?”

“I
can, but it’s gonna hurt like hell for him,” she grimly replied, eagerly
rubbing her hands together, hoping to scare him into telling them instead of
her going inside his polluted mind.

Sam
appeared, his gun drawn. “No hurting my boss, ma’am. I like you, don’t make me
hurt you back.”

She
chuckled at the brave human. “I like you, too. As to hurting me, I’m stronger
than I look.”

Frowning
at her meaning, Sam glanced at Harklee. “Boss, why do you want to be a vamp? Doesn’t
it defeat the purpose of hunting them?”

“You
don’t understand, Sam. You haven’t done this as long as me. I’m tired. Tired of
feeling pain, tired of getting my ass kicked by demons, who waste their
precious gift of immortality on nobodies. I want to live forever!”

“What’s
the weapon?” Alex asked, unconvinced by Harklee’s reasoning.

“Make
me an immortal, and I’ll tell you,” Harklee countered, a mad gleam in his eyes.

“Forbidden
to turn human, remember?”

“Bullshit!
Faeroes allowed Rathe and Simon to turn the bitches they married. You can turn—”
Kai slammed her fist in his face, sending the man sailing in the air twenty
yards before Harklee came to crashing to halt in the dirt.

Sam
swung his gun at her. Alex snatched it out of his hand as he threw him down
onto the ground. Kai drew her sword, the tip pressed to his throat, her foot on
his chest. “Told you looks were deceiving.” She stepped back and offered her
hand out to him. Wary, Sam accepted and gasped as she easily jerked him onto
his feet.

“Why
did you hit him?” Sam went to help his boss, who was knocked out cold.

“That
‘bitch’ he referred to was my mother.”

“Oh. I understand. Um, maybe you, two, should get
out of here while Harklee is out. I hear the men returning.”

Alex drew his sword, advancing on Sam, who warily
watched him. “What is this weapon Harklee speaks of?”

“I’ve never heard of it. He’s been secretive
lately. Getting really weird and paranoid.”

“Has he met with anyone? Someone you’ve never seen
before?”

“Not met, he’s been texting a lot to someone.”

Resting the blade casually on his shoulder, Alex
said, “Word of warning: you ever kill a Borne, I will hunt you down and end
you. We have an understanding?”

“How will I know the difference?”

“The Damned show the demon in them when a crucifix
is put in their face and are highly allergic to silver. The only way to kill
them is to behead them. Make sure you dust them afterwards with Holy water.
Always clean up the mess to keep regular humans in the dark. We don’t need a
panic on our hands.”

The sound of running feet warned their time was running
out. Alex held out his hand to Sam, who shook it. “We will meet again, Sam
Winter. You are an honorable man whom the Borne would be willing to work with
in the fight to stop the Damned from ruling the world.”

“I look forward to it. Thank you for your advice.”
Sam reached down and grabbed Harklee’s cellphone. “Here, it should help you
find what he’s been talking about.”

Slipping the cellphone in his back pocket, Alex
inclined his head. “Thank you. Until next time.”
 

Sheathing their swords, they flew upward, speeding
away before the hunters were in shooting range. What the hell did Lisle steal
from Angel that could turn the war?

“Kai, we are not
returning to the hotel. Let us find a secluded resting place and hide. There
looks like a good place to sleep.”
He pointed below them.

“Okay.”

Landing on the grassy bank of the River Elba, she
held out her hand. “Let me take a look at Harklee’s cellphone.” He handed it to
her.

She tried to get in, finding it was password
protected. “Crap. He’s got security on it. Can’t get into his phone.”

“We’ll
take it to Faeroes. He has people who can break into it. I don’t know about
you, I’m done in. Let’s seek the ground.”

“Sure.”
Shrugging off her backpack, she put the cellphone inside it. When she looked
up, she saw he had opened two graves near a huge oak tree.

“Two
graves, huh?”

“Kai,
I’m not—”

“No
need to explain. I understand.” She didn’t, but she was too tired to try and
figure out the enigma of Alexander Wulf and his hot and cold signals. “Let’s
just go to sleep.”

His
broad shoulder dropped in defeat as he turned away. “Yes. Let’s.”

Chapter Twelve

Kai rose from her grave earlier than Alex, needing some
time alone. Shaking off the dirt, she buckled on her sword and pulled on her
backpack. She went down to the river’s edge, staring at the moon-dappled
surface belying the strong, turbulent current beneath. Just like Alex’s feelings
for her and her for him.

Closing
her eyes, she could feel his strong arms around her, the delicious way he
kissed her. God, she wanted to feel him naked against her, to make love with
him. Resigned to the fact he would always find an excuse to run from his
feelings for her, she opened her eyes and hugged herself, wanting to cry. Deep
down, she knew there would be no happily ever after with Alexander Wulf. Once
Lisle was dead, he would leave her, and she would go back to hunting serial
killers and monsters.

Needing
to hear Mina’s voice, she reached out to her.
“Mina? Can you hear me?”

“Kai? Are you okay?
I’ve got the weirdest impression of you and Alex falling, the sun was burning
you!”

“We were.
Hunters shot our plane down. Alex jumped out in the sunlight with me. He was
burned badly. We’re fine, but we’re in a situation I-I am not equipped to handle.”

“Kai, what’s
going on?”

“Other than
Alex’s ex-lover is turning children, killing and eating the Damned, then we
were just kidnapped by Harklee and asked to turn him. We escaped, but Alex made
a deal with the Damned and we’re gonna help them kill Lisle, whom we know as
Lisa. And-and I can’t handle the hot and cold signals I’m getting from Alex!”

“You are working
with the Damned to kill her?”

“Have to. She is
one sick bitch, worse than in London, and we are outnumbered here. Where are
you and Sin?”

“Hamburg. We
just missed Angel. She is one slippery bitch. Want us to come to you?”

Everything inside her wanted to scream ‘yes’, but
she knew killing Angel was top priority.
“No,
keep after Angel. Alex and I can bring down Lisle. After that, we’re heading to
Berlin. Heads up, Rathe and Mom are attending the meeting. Oh, and Mom said
Rathe is not pissed anymore, but I wouldn’t put it past him to still focus on
Sin and his past.”

“Understood. Watch your back!”

“You, too.”

Feeling better having talked to Mina, until she heard
Alex stirring.
Earth
flew upward, releasing him from his sleep. She watched him leap out of his
grave and waved his hand across his torso, removing the dirt off him. Alex dug
his hands in his pockets and walked down the bank to stand beside her.

“When
did you rise?”

“About
ten minutes ago.”

They stared at the river, listening to the sounds
of frogs croaking, crickets singing. He reached out to cup her cheek. “Kai, we
need to stay on target. Lisle will come after you, to hurt me. If she escapes—”

She cut him off. “We need to return to the hotel.
Waters and his men are searching for us, worried that we left them to Lisle’s
vengeance.”

“Kai, please understand. I need you to be safe.”

“Safe?
You mean alone. As you said, this is a job. Let’s finish it.” Kai shrugged her
shoulders, transforming into a golden eagle.

Stretching
out her long wings, she flew toward Magdeburg. Alex had shifted into an eagle,
too, and flew above her.
She knew she wasn’t being fair to Alex, but his
touching her was causing her too much confusion and pain. To fight Lisle and
the Damned, if they betrayed her and Alex, she needed a clear head and a steady
hand, not frustrated.

Soaring over the beautiful city, he took lead as
they neared their hotel. Good thing he paid for three nights otherwise the new
clothes she bought would have disappeared. Landing in the park, they shifted
back. Drawing their guns, they blurred them as they neared the hotel. No sign
of Lisle or the familiar smell of the Damned. Passing the hotel clerk, they
nodded to him and went on to the elevator. The hotel was quiet. The guests were
either asleep or out in the city, enjoying another fine summer evening. Digging
into his rear pocket, he withdrew the card key and swiped it. Their room was
just as they had left it.

Holstering her gun, she slipped off her backpack
and unbuckled her scabbard, laying them on the bed. She went to the dresser and
pulled out clothes to change into. “I’m taking a shower. Let me know if Waters
calls.”

“Kai, we need to talk about us.”

“Why? You’ll never let me in, not completely. You
will always keep me at arm’s length, always trying to protect me, and you’ll
never love me. Not the way I … Never mind. Let’s keep this professional. No
more kissing me, no more making me want you. I just want to put Lisle down,
kill Waters, and find Mina and Sin. Then head to Berlin.”

The surprise on his face would have been laughable
at any other time, except she wanted to bawl, wanted to run, unable to because
a crazy-ass vampiress was on the loose and needed to be put out of her misery.
Slamming the bathroom door shut behind her, she locked it for good measure. The
flimsy lock couldn’t stop Alex if he wanted in and apparently, he didn’t.

Blowing a stray hair out of her eyes, she turned the
water on and undressed.

✝✝✝

The shower turned on and visions of Kai naked made
him swell hard to painful proportions. Frustrated and confused, Alex paced the
hotel room back and forth. Dammit, he needed to be focused on hunting Lisle,
not Kai.

Peering out the window, he saw his reflection —
his failures, the monster he’d become … his desire for Kai.
Looking down at his clothes,
Alex hated what he wore, hated being something he wasn’t. Standing there, Lisle,
the Damned, his choices, none were the problem. He guarded his feelings, closed
them off until he held a small babe in his arms and gazed into her trusting
eyes. Mariah had pulled him back, giving him a reason to live by protecting
her. Years later, when he met the sapphire gaze of a certain young woman, he
felt alive, truly alive for the first time since 1819.

Trust. Faith. Love.

Unable to trust completely, he had no faith in
God, and love … well, love he loved Mariah as an uncle, but Kai, she was
entirely different. His love had started out as a guardian, since the night he
learned he had a soul, had manifested to something he had avoided since Lisle.
He avoided relationships and his dalliances with the opposite sex were strictly
for physical release.

He heard splashing water, images of Kai using a
soapy cloth to caress her breasts, down her flat stomach, between her legs. Alex
slammed his hands on the window sill, a strangled cry escaped him. He could
feel her hunger for him, even after she’d told him to stop wanting her. Torn
between wanting to break down the door and take her or do what he did best and
run, he felt the room closing in on him.

He needed fresh air.

Out
in the hallway, he stumbled to a halt. He didn’t want to run: he wanted Kai.
Could
he open his heart and share it with her, freely without fear of losing her,
too?

The thought of Kai dead left him shaking and cold.
Nausea rolled in the pit of his stomach, bile clogged the back of his throat.
It took several tries to swallow back the acid of terror. To lose her after all
these years made his knees weaken, and he leaned back against the wall for
support.

His cell phone rang.

Checking the caller ID, it read Unknown. Had to be
Waters. Answering it, “Yes?”

Waters asked, “Where are you?”

“We’re getting ready. Has Lisle made an
appearance?”

“No and none of my men have gone missing yet. When
do you plan to meet me at
Club Vampyre
?”

“Give us an hour.”

“In an hour then.” The call ended.

“Time to get to work.” He was almost relieved.
Hunting was easier than expressing his feelings and right now, he’d rather kill
than try to talk to Kai about how he felt!

Reentering the room, he knocked on the bathroom door.
“Kai, Waters called. We need to leave and scout out the club, make sure it’s
not a trap for us.”

He heard her say, “Has Lisle been sighted?’ The
bathroom door opened, Kai stood before him with a white towel wrapped around
her. Water glistened on her skin. Her wet, long dark red hair was drawn over
her left shoulder. Unable to speak or move, he stared at her, captivated.
Memories of her standing in the shower, naked and beautiful beyond words.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” she asked, a small frown
creasing her dark brows, drawing her soft lips into a kissable pout.

“God, you are so beautiful.”

She looked away, pained. “I told you to stop. I
can’t do this anymore with you. I can’t keep letting you break my heart.” She
made to shut the door, he refused to let her.

“Kai, why did you want me? Of all the men you’ve
met, why me?”

“Because I felt the connection between us, it was
as if our souls had touched and the loneliness inside of me went away.”

“For me, it was like my heart jump started and I
wasn’t a monster in your eyes.”

She issued a mirthless laugh. “I’ve waited years
for you to say that to me. It’s too late now.”

Observing the way she avoided eye contact, blushed
cheeks, it hit him why she was uncomfortable. “Kai, you’ve never been intimate
with a man, have you?”

“This conversation is over!” She tried to shut the
door again, but he wouldn’t let her.

“No, Kai, time for the truth. Why haven’t you been
with anybody?”
 

She looked at him, lifting her chin defiantly. “I
never wanted to be with anybody else, only you.”

Rubbing his knuckled along the fine line of her
cheekbone, he watched as her eyes closed and a single tear trickled down her
cheek. For the first time since the winter of 1819, Alexander let go of his
past and embraced Kai. She didn’t resist, only leaned into him. Breathing in the
commercial shampoo she’d used, he filtered it out and drew into his lungs the
scent that was Kai, and made his decision.

Slipping
his fingers in her hair, he grabbed a fistful and drew her head back, exposing
her throat. He nuzzled her neck. Molding his lips along the soft, warm slope of
her neck, licking, tasting her, a whimper escaped her as she arched her throat
for more of his caress.
Sweeping his tongue, tasting her warm skin, Alex
closed his eyes, listening to the blood flowing underneath her satin-soft skin.

“Alex, please,” she begged.

“Say it, Kai,” he murmured, his lips brushing her
skin.

“Alex?” She opened her eyes, glowing in her
hunger.

“Say it!” he demanded, feeling his fangs extend, his
hunger for her making it hard to keep control.

✝✝✝

Kai stared into his eyes, not understanding what he
wanted. His fangs were long, eyes fierce in his lust and something more. Primal
need and instinct intertwined. There, she understood what Alex wanted from her.
Her fangs dropped as she ran her hands up his back, feeling the muscles
underneath the cotton material tense and expand.
Kai felt the change in him. Saw it in her mind as he opened
his heart and soul to her. His own fears and years of protecting himself had
influenced his actions, not the need to cut her off.

“Alexander Wulf, I freely give of myself, my body,
my blood to you. Take me and make me yours.”

His teeth sank into her throat. Pain of his
intrusion diminished as the pleasure of his taking of her blood sent her
vampire heart thundering. Alex lifted his head to look at her. Blood trickled
down the side of his mouth.

“Take of my blood and be with me forever.” Proud
and wild, there was vulnerability in the way he stared at her. The way Alex
waited, the hope, and fear in his blazing green eyes.

Running her hand up his neck, she gently brought
his head down to hers and they kissed. She closed her eyes, tasting her blood
on his tongue. Loving the way he held her in his arms, so close their hearts
beat in time. She left his mouth and scraped her teeth against the warm skin
along his neck, she smiled as a small moaned escaped him. He was trembling in
anticipation of her biting him. Opening her mouth, she sank her teeth into his
neck, just below his ear, drinking the blood gushing into her mouth. Alex lifted
her and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the bed.

Withdrawing her teeth, she licked the blood off
his already healed wounds. Alex laid her on the bed and slowly pulled the towel
off of her.
With his
blood flowing through her veins, Kai was in tuned with Alex as he was with her
now as her blood flowed through him. He shed his tee-shirt and she was
transfixed by the display of muscle and flesh exposed to her. His nostrils
flared as he shed his jeans, black boxer shorts. All these years she imagined
what Alex would look like and it fell short the magnificent man before her.

Alex
knelt on the bed before her feet. She gasped as he kissed her foot, switched to
her other leg. Gently, he pushed her legs apart as he licked and kissed his way
to the apex between her thighs. Hypnotized, air trapped in her lungs as she
felt his warm breath brush the dark curls and her toes curled in anticipation.
The first sweep of his tongue made her gasp, as he played and tormented her and
she moaned, arching into him. Her release came like a wave, cresting and
beautiful, leaving her wanting more, wanting Alex inside her. He rose above her
and she felt his erection against her thigh.