Scent of Salvation (Chronicles of Eorthe #1) (29 page)

She moaned and stopped struggling.

“The water is clear and cold. It’s a small hike from here.” He pinched her nipples, delighting in them.

“Sounds wonderful.”

Slithering out of his arms, she grabbed her dress. “Are you going like that?”

He glanced down at his naked body. “You don’t like it?”

“What’s not to like? I don’t want the important bits getting snagged on something.”

He couldn’t help but grin like a fool. As alpha, most people didn’t banter with him. Susan’s quick wit made her even more precious. She gave him spirit and—and fun.

By the Goddess, when was the last time he’d had fun and laughed?

With a hunter’s speed, he captured her again in his arms. He ravaged her mouth, tongue and lips. Tasting, he consumed her delicate flavor as he trapped her against his body.

Using his hair as leverage, she pulled him away. “Waterfall.”

“If you didn’t obsess about washing so much, you wouldn’t have to worry about my bits, and you’d have the whole day to fondle them.”

“Keep this up, and you may need to protect those bits from me.”

He growled. “Promise?” Watching her bathe in the cold waterfall would be a joy though—hard nipples, goose flesh and so many drops to lick. “Let’s go.” He set her down, shifted to feral form and gathered a few supplies.

“You shift so quickly. Does it hurt?”

“No.” He tossed the things in a large pack—blankets, flint, cooking gear. “Can you carry this on your back as you ride me?”

She ran her fingers through the fur on his chest. “Honey, I can do anything while riding you.”

His knees weakened at the image those words inspired.

The trip took an hour of climbing at shifter speed. If Susan had walked the distance it would have taken a day. She’d misjudged the distance and speed to the Temple when Sorin brought her to the Apisi den. She never would have made it on her own.

She dismounted from Sorin’s back and stared at the oasis he’d spoken of. Water trickled from a high cliff thirty feet above in a steady stream and collected in a sandy, oval pool. “You know the best spots, Sorin.” She kicked off her moccasins and dipped her toes.

Cold, but the sun rose overhead and promised to be warm. The light danced on the clear liquid, sparkling in a thousand diamonds. She undressed, tossed the dress on the grass and stepped into the pool.

After Sorin’s thorough exploration of her body last night, she didn’t feel timid. Tingles played over her skin but not from the brush of cool water on her thighs. She glanced over her shoulder at the source.

Sorin stood on the grassy slope watching, his avid attention almost solid enough to caress her skin.

Electric currents of sexual energy charged through her body. No one had ever looked at her quite this way. He made her feel sexy, desirable. With Sorin around, she wanted nothing.

He strolled to the edge, thick muscles moving under his fur, and lounged across the ground. The sun sparkled on his silver fur, giving it an almost metallic sheen. She’d never seen a creature more deadly—or more beautiful.

“Won’t you wash with me?”

“I’ll bathe after. I want to watch.” He shifted back to civil form. After only a few days, the act didn’t faze her anymore. The silver color of his long hair and his amber eyes always remained the same. “I want to look at you.”

Oh, she was in deep shit. She’d fallen so hard for him. She didn’t have any experience with these kinds of emotions. Clutching her stomach, she tried to settle the butterflies rioting inside. Would she be like Lailanie one day? Trapped living in the Apisi den forced to watch as he seduced a different female?

No wonder the female shifter hated her. “Were you and Lailanie—um—”

“No.”

“You didn’t let me finish.”

“You didn’t need to.”

The butterflies in her stomach dispersed and set her heart free. She hadn’t realized the guilt she carried until now. She didn’t want to be known as a male stealer.

His gaze wandered over her body. “No scars anywhere and no calluses on your hands. You’re so smooth and soft, I can barely keep from pouncing on you.” He sighed and plucked at the grass, one strand at a time. “You lived an easy life. I wish I could offer you the same.” He sounded hurt.

It twisted her gut that he thought he had so little to give. She came ashore and knelt in front of him. “I don’t think Eorthe could offer me what I lost.”

He flinched.

She caressed his face until his chin rested in her palm. “I never knew how empty and meaningless my life was until I met you though. You saved me, Sorin. I only existed in my world, but you showed me how to live.”

He turned his face against her palm and placed a kiss on it.

She slipped back into the pool. “Swim with me.” Floating in the center, she observed a couple of cumulus clouds passing across the blue sky. She’d never bothered to look at them on Earth. She’d been too busy meeting deadlines, secreted away in her lab, going over calculations and arguing theories. She should be trying to figure out how to return home. Instead, she rode shifters bareback through the mountains, bathed in hot springs and fell out of trees.

If the portal opened again while at the Temple, she wouldn’t step through. This world with its vicious creatures held Sorin, and he in turn owned her heart. How could she ever live without him?

Waves rippled around her. Sorin swam close, circling. “You have an advantage over me.”

She wanted to laugh. She had nothing on him—he had all the power.

“You know of my world. Tell me about yours.”

Settling her feet onto the sandy bottom, she stopped drifting away from him. “I told you some things. Only humans exist there as far as I know. Our technology is much more advanced. What else?”

“How many lovers have you had?”

Her breakfast rolled over and played dead. “Not many.”

With a grave expression, he swam closer and inhaled. “You’re not lying but I find that hard to believe.”

She opened and closed her mouth trying not to sputter. He wasn’t joking. “I wouldn’t lie about that.” Men chased after women like Lailanie, not super-geeky her.

“Children?”

She shook her head then pinned him with a glare. “Are any of the pups in the den yours?”

“No.”

“Any pups anywhere?”

He grinned. “No. I haven’t taken a lover in years.”

“Why not?” Lailanie had hinted at this when they’d had their heart-to-heart. “I mean—a guy like you shouldn’t have trouble finding one.” She spoke softer.

Raking his hair from his face, he sighed. “It’s complicated.”

The cold water became frigid. “Try me.”

“I explained the other night how the alpha is the heart of the pack. My…father was the alpha. His feral side was more dominant than his civil. This doesn’t happen often, but when it appears we try to put the shifter down before someone gets hurt.” He cleared his throat and stared at the waterfall. “My father hid it well until he grew too strong for anyone to challenge him.”

A chill ran through her limbs. She reached for Sorin and pressed her body to his back. She recalled the night of the burial when he’d mentioned something about abuse.

“There are many terrible rumors about the Apisi—beatings, murder, rape. They were all true while my father was alpha.”

She hugged him tight, unable to imagine a childhood in that kind of environment. What could she say?

“Every time I made a connection with someone he destroyed it. He saw it as a weakness and wanted me to take his place. Eventually, I stopped reaching out. I had to wait.”

She sensed the blood leave her face. “For what?”

“To grow stronger and do what he wanted by becoming alpha.” He twisted in her arms to face her. Any playfulness had disappeared. “I killed him.”

Her fingertips touched her open mouth as she struggled with the what-the-fuck moment. Murdered his father? Granted, that happened on Earth too, but not to anyone she knew, let alone cared about. She understood pack law was very different from human but she couldn’t bury years of her beliefs in just a few days.

Sorin grasped her elbow and kept her from drifting away. “He was hurting them, Susan. I had to protect the pack.” He hung his head. “You don’t understand.”

She straightened her shoulders and gripped his biceps. What would happen to her if they had a disagreement? Would he put her down? “Explain it then.”

The pain in his eyes when their gazes met cut through her doubts. “It’s instinctual for me to protect. I think my father didn’t have this natural instinct as an alpha.” His stare glazed over. “I found Peder early one morning. He was barely thirteen winters old.” He swallowed. “The blood—what my father—I mean…”

“Sorin?”

“It made me so angry. My feral side took control. Alphas take care of the pack, not destroy it. I hunted him down within the den in my feral form, which is against our laws, and attacked.” He shuddered. “No one tried to stop me.”

The ache in her chest grew. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. Sorrow choked her voice and made it hoarse.

“Don’t be. I don’t regret it. I showed him mercy and killed him quick. That’s more than he deserved.”

She leaned her head on his resilient shoulder.

“After that I couldn’t take any female in the pack. Even in his death, my father’s shadow followed me. Any poor judgment on my part reminded the pack of him. I couldn’t indulge, not without damaging our fragile bonds.” He caressed her cheek. “No one sees me. They see an alpha, the son of a tyrant, or a savior.”

Closing her eyes, she struggled not to shed tears. “You’ve been as alone as I have.”

“Not anymore.”

Chapter Thirty-One

The pups scattered out the door of the school room a few seconds after Kele dismissed them from studies. She loved teaching but her mind kept wandering back to a golden omega hiding in her den instead of
 
focusing on the lessons.

No matter how busy she kept herself, she managed to end up at his door. Someone had offered her a tasty dessert last night, and she’d brought it to him. She’d found a book of maps and spent yesterday evening showing him how to understand them.

This morning her father threw out an old kilt. With a few adjustments, Peder would have something better to wear besides his tattered one. She collected her sewing basket—the kilt folded in the bottom—and found the doorway blocked by her female parent. “Mother.”

“Daughter.” She raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “What’s in the basket?”

“Some sewing I mean to do.”

Faster than Kele could react, her mother snatched it from her grasp.

Kele tried to grab it but Chaska turned away, obstructing her reach. “Give it back.”

“I thought I saw you take this old kilt. What are you doing with it?” She held the clothing out of Kele’s reach.

“None of your business.” She shoved her mother. “Give it back.”

Chaska’s head knocked on the stone wall. The basket landed on the ground, the contents scattering.

Kele clasped her hands to her mouth. What had she done?

With a shake of her head, her mother leaned heavily against the wall.

“Mother, are you well?” She rushed to her side.

Growling, Chaska grabbed her by the collar and pulled her against her chest. Sharp canines snapped close to Kele’s face. “Mercy? What do I keep trying to teach you, pup?” She shook her until Kele’s eyes rolled with dizziness.

Tossed to the floor, Kele tried to regain her stance. She knew from experience if she didn’t rise to her feet, the kicking would commence. “Attack when my opponent is down.” Struggling with her balance, she stood and faced her mother.

“Exactly. Mercy won’t get you anything but a good bite.” Chaska rubbed the back of her head.

Kele held her burning tears in check. They would only bring on more ridicule. “But I don’t see you as an opponent. We’re supposed to care for each other. You’re my mother.” Her voice went hoarse.

A knot of repressed anger unraveled in her gut. Without another thought, Kele kicked out and side-swiped her mother’s legs from under her. All those years of being taunted and scorned, of shoving aside her emotions for her mother’s sake, ended today.

Chaska rolled toward the exit as soon as she landed on her back. With fluid grace, she rose. “Better.” She crouched low, her legs braced for an attack. “Now, with less passion and more thought.”

“Are you insane?”

Her mother tackled her. The hard floor knocked the breath from her lungs, but Kele was too busy keeping Chaska from biting her to worry about breathing. How were they related? She kneed her mother in the flank, close to the kidney, just like she’d been taught.

A sharp yip rewarded her effort. Without hesitation, Kele punched her mother across the chin, then shoved her off in a combined motion. As she tried to crawl away, Chaska yanked her back to the floor by the hair.

Kele howled.

The first true feral thing she’d ever done.