Dawn Released

The pack fell into a dead hush. "I..." She stared at Torr. His expression pled with her, begging her to accept his father's terms. She stared out at the eyes locked on her. Eyes so filled with hate. If she thought about declining Seff's offer, she was done for. She wasn't getting out of this one alive. All she had to do was say 'yes' and she'd be safe. It would buy her time. That's what Torr was truly offering her, the precious gift of time. "Yes, I accept Torr as my mate."

Seff fumed. He had expected Eloise to have some pride about herself, to refuse, and to fight. Not to give in like a lamb led to the slaughter. He'd have to get rid of her personally. And in time, as soon as he thought of a good enough way, he would. "Torr?" His stupid son had started this ball rolling. If Torr backed out, he'd make him wish he were dead. In so many ways, death would be the better alternative awaiting him. By the time Seff was through with his son, Torr would wish he'd kept his mouth shut.

"I find her acceptable. I'll take Eloise as my mate." Torr shot Eloise a look that begged her to keep quiet and go along with it. He'd explain everything later. He took her hand. Her delicate, petite, perfectly manicured hand in his grip and thrust their joined palms up to the crowd. He didn't want Eloise. He was only trying to buy her time and help her come up with a way to get out of this alive. And maybe, if he were lucky, he'd save his own skin in the process.

He saw the love that Jan and Thomas shared. Perhaps, it was in honor of that love that he'd stuck his neck out for Eloise. At one time, an arranged marriage would have been something he wouldn't have batted an eye about. After all, what did love have to do with furthering his race? But when Thomas, and ordinary human, stood toe to toe with him, ready to die for love and Jan had risked everything to protect her man. Torr began to understand. DNA made babies, but love made families. The hope that someday he'd find what they had kept him going during the long dark days of his torture by his father's hand.

"Well!" Seff pasted a big fatherly smile on his face. "This night has turned out happy after all. This is a night of true celebration. Let us not keep the bride and groom from their honeymoon any longer. We will celebrate while they get better acquainted." He shot Eloise and Torr a knowing wink, playing it up for the crowd. Inside, he was plotting a way to get rid of her, perhaps the both of them. Torr's DNA was golden, but only that would carry him so far. "Drinks for everyone!" He shouted as he disappeared into the thick of the crowd to accept his congratulations.

Eloise faked the widest happy smile she could conjure up as the guards whisked her and Torr from the room. She gripped Torr's fingers tightly, knowing the danger he faced, because of her. She felt Torr's hand squeezing hers in response. He understood what he'd gotten himself into. She simply didn't understand why he'd done it. They were shoved into an idling SUV and whisked to the Grand Manor.

When they were suitably alone, she leaned into him, whispering into his ear to avoid the bugs Seff had undoubtedly planted in the room. "Why?"

Torr gripped Eloise around the waist and pulled her close. Making it look good for the hidden cameras, he bent to whisper his reply into her ear. "If I hadn't they would have torn you to pieces."

He released her and set to work, marking the room with his scent and mussing the neatly made bed. Wrapping his body with a sheet as he tossed his clothes haphazardly into a pile on the floor. He said loudly enough for the audio bugs to pick up the conversation, "Come, Eloise. After all this is our honeymoon and I'm eager to get to it." The bed had to look like two people had gotten busy in it. The air had to be thickly laden with the scent of flesh and sex. Their act had to be flawless and utterly believable. Otherwise, they were both as good as dead.

Chapter 8

"You truly believe her life is in danger?" Drew analyzed Nash's posture and facial expression. His preternatural hearing focused on the rapid and steady thump, thump of Nash's heart in his chest and the whoosh of blood coursing through his veins. Drew smelled the scent of worry as it radiated from Nash's pores. According to the signals his body sent, Nash believed Eloise was in danger with every fiber of his being.

"Yes. I'd like to take the omegas and go to Texas. See after her, if I can." He was talking to Drew out of consideration, not asking permission. Tracker and Catcher had no fealty to the brotherhood. He technically, had no loyalty to the brotherhood either. They were distantly related, through DNA though not through blood.

There were boundaries neither side had crossed except for in times of desperate emergency. The vampires kept their fangs to themselves and did not feed off the pack. The magic in the pack's blood was strong and it held a promise of things best left unknown and unconsidered by the vampires. Nash's rules. Drew's rules. And nobody dared to violate them. Blood was thicker than water. Distantly related or not, Eloise was blood.

"You understand what your presence there could mean?" Drew had a lot riding on his shoulders. The very lives of two communities rested on his decisions. He longed for a day when there'd be no trouble. When his hardest decision would be the proverbial paper or plastic, Coke or Pepsi. But, it seemed like that day was never going to come. By allowing Nash to go to Texas, he could inadvertently start a war. One Drew wasn't certain he could win. The Texas wolves, while his distant relatives, from what he'd seen of them so far, were ruthless and violent, without respect for any living thing, except for themselves and their precious, precious bloodline. There were however, a few good apples in the bad bushel. And Eloise was one of the good ones worth saving. He had a feeling that even if he said no and denied Nash's request, the man would go anyway.

"I do."

"And if you go down there and she refuses to leave?"

"At least I'll be able to live with myself knowing that I tried to help her."

"You expect the wolves here to be without their master? You risk depriving your pack of its leader." Drew had his hands full with overseeing Dane and Nash. Dane led the brotherhood with John Mark attached to his hip as his second. Nash was grooming his replacement. But, Mouse was far too young and no way near ready to lead a pack. If something happened to Nash, Drew would be forced to step in and intervene. Otherwise, the pack would tear itself apart in the fight to establish a new leader. Tala could take Nash's place, but he would not risk his wife in the line of fire, if Nash did not return. The brotherhood and the pack thought him a civilized man. And for the most part, he was. But, let one hair on Tala's beautiful head be damaged and they'd soon realize how uncivilized he could be.

Nash had anticipated the Great White Wolf's question. He had a contingency plan. No, the pack did not have a hierarchy of leadership clearly established like the brotherhood did. Leadership was earned, by rite, blood, tooth, and claw. Sometimes, Drew was too human and too much a vampire for his own good. And yes, Nash understood that the man had lived over two hundred years under the mistaken guise that he was something defined of flesh, bone, and blood and nothing more.

Drew had the gift of the spirit wolf in him. Nash suspected the man had always had the gift, but it had lay dormant and unrecognized. Nash had only speculation as to why the Prophet had never told Drew the truth of his other family. Perhaps, the Prophet, the original Great White Wolf, was protecting his brother for some unknown reason Nash could not fathom. Nash was Drew's great nephew. Nana, his mother, was the Prophet's daughter and the last of his children that they knew of, still alive. "Grant and Hunter are well versed. They can handle anything that comes up here and they have you."

"I don't like to intercede when I don't have to," Drew warned.

"I know that Supreme Pack Master, but this is something that I simply must do myself." He couldn't explain the feelings of protectiveness that rose up in his chest when he thought of Eloise. He had to go. Personally. See that she was safe with his own eyes and save her from any danger, if she weren't.

"And of your team?"

"I'm taking the Omegas, no one else. My guess is that they know the territory well enough to get us in and out. Quietly. I don't have to guess where their loyalties lie. I know I can trust them. There isn't anything they wouldn't do for Eloise."

"True enough. I'd like to send a Son along as well. Actually, I think one of the Guardians might be a better choice, though. Carter, he is familiar with the Rogues and might be of some use if you run into difficulties along the way."

Nash didn't know any of the Guardians personally. They were in charge of protecting the city from the dangers of the Rogues. Nash hated to pull one of them away from their duties, but, if he wanted to go to Texas with the Great White Wolf's blessing, he was going to have to be willing to negotiate.

The thought of rogues nauseated him, filthy, bloodsuckers that preyed on humanity as a food source, leaving a trail of death and corpses in their wake. The Guardians, from what Nash had heard, weren't much different from their Rogue forefathers, existing solely on human blood. At least the Guardians had an agreement with their human donors and they 'caught and released' their prey. Even the Sons had to have human blood in minute quantities in order to survive. Hunting in the woods, sustaining themselves on animals, sometimes hunting beside their wolf cousins, curbed their preternatural instincts and kept the beast inside of them at bay and their fangs out of the necks of the unsuspecting. Nash shuddered at what he thought Carter's version of take out cuisine would be. "What will Carter eat on the journey?"

"Carter is very old, older than I am. He doesn't require much in the way of sustenance, but I'm sure if he has needs, he'll manage them himself."

Nash exhaled in relief. Thankfully, the team wasn't expected to provide Carter with dinner every night. "Very well."

"I'm assuming you want to leave as soon as possible?"

"Yes."

"Fine, I'll contact Carter. As soon as he arrives I'll be in touch." Drew reached out and wrapped his fingers around Nash's bicep in a show of brotherhood. "Be careful out there and bring Eloise home to us, if you can and if you can't, bring yourself home in one piece."

"I'll do what I can."

Chapter 9

Gray light filtered in through the cheap vinyl mini blinds covering Kacie's bedroom windows. After she and Tristen's romp in the snow and almost kiss she'd conceded to share the bed, not her body, only her bed, with him. Truth was, she hadn't been able to sleep with him so close in the next room. She felt bad that she'd slammed the door shut in his face. She had climbed into bed and immediately climbed out of it to apologize.

His clothes were as soaked as hers. He was huddled on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position. He'd pulled his shirt off and draped it over the back of the chair to dry. His socks lay over the register. But, he wore his wet jeans and he had to be miserable in them. She'd insisted that he borrow a pair of her athletic shorts to wear while his jeans dried. He'd agreed and gone into the bathroom to change. She'd stretched his jeans over the back of a chair. With just one look at him, coming out of the bathroom wearing nothing but her shorts and a smile, and definitely no underwear beneath the shorts, she immediately decided he looked good in pink.

The color really showed off his darker skin complexion. The hot pink shorts were little more than Daisy Dukes on him, stretched tight and almost ripping at the seams. She didn't want to think about the fact that he went commando under his jeans. And she couldn't entertain the thoughts of how thin the material that covered him truly was. She'd chosen the pink shorts as a punishment for him invading her space. And yeah, it was a punishment, but he wasn't the one suffering.

After a long relaxing, steamy hot shower to soothe her frazzled nerves. He'd treated her to the rest of the cocoa, warmed up and in her favorite mug, and the most amazing foot massage she'd ever had in her life. They'd talked and talked and talked until the wee hours of the morning. Actually, Tristen was better company than she had expected. He was smart, and funny, and quick with a come back. Finally, she settled enough to feel her eyelids begin to droop. How could she possibly make him suffer through a long night cramped and miserable on her couch when he'd been so nice to her?

He'd been a perfect gentleman all night, as far as she knew. She'd dozed off somewhere after inviting him to share her bed and between a conversation and a repeat performance of his infamous foot rubs. Her twin bed was far too small for the two of them. His arm was draped loosely over her side as he snored in her ear. She felt something, not that the shorts left much to the imagination, pressing against her backside, probing through the oversized fleece sleep shirt she'd worn to bed.

Her cheeks flamed red as she tried to wiggle free from his heavy arm. He slept like a rock refusing to budge. She hoped he wasn't dreaming about her, or maybe she wanted him to be. A sting of jealousy bit through her at the thought of him dreaming about some other girl, at least she hoped he was dreaming about a girl. Finding out he was gay really wouldn't do wonders for her ego. But, she didn't think he was gay.

Curiosity burned through her inhibitions. Nudity shouldn't mean a damn thing to her. She was a wolf. She did naked. But, the thought of Tristen naked heated her from the top of her head to her toes. From the feel of things as they pressed against her bottom, he'd picked the right size condom after all. She was embarrassed. She was curious. He was asleep. The hard on, was a sheer reflex, not a sign of arousal. He wouldn't know she'd checked him out. Slowly, she inched her fingers along the curve of her hip. Trailing them along the stretched pink fabric of her nylon shorts far too tight on his body. She found his length and slid her fingertips up, and up, along the hard, thick ridge. Her cheeks blazed crimson as she finished her appraisal. Extra large might not be big enough. He was simply, well, there wasn't any polite way to put it, hung like a Clydesdale.

She tugged her hand back before her fingers took more than a brief self-guided tour of the no man's land below Tristen's belt line. Embarrassed to even so much as breathe for fear of waking him as he snorted and reflexively dug his fingers into her hip and pressed even harder against her butt. She held perfectly still. He relaxed and settled back into a rhythmic snore. Thank God he hadn't woken up. She didn't know how she'd explain what she'd been doing. Especially, when she'd been so demanding that he be a gentleman and she had definitely not obeyed her own rules and been a lady, a lady of the evening, maybe, but certainly no lady.

Hello! Tristen's eyes snapped open as soon as he felt the warmth of Kacie's fingers on his private pogo stick. He thought at first he was having a regression into his teen years. The four years of hell when he sported a perpetual boner every time a breeze blew by. Damn! Her fingers were doing the walking. And his body, especially his cock, was ready to do the talking. If she didn't stop he was going to pop right out of these thin nylon shorts like a jack in the box.

Her hand withdrew and he exhaled through his clenched molars. Actually, it sounded more like a snort. More. More. More his body cried out. His dick was practically begging. He dug his fingers into the soft curve of her hip and pulled her tightly against him. Resting his little buddy right in the supple flesh of her perfectly shaped butt. Damn, did that feel good, not great, but better. She was soft and warm against him. It took all the force of his wavering will not to hump her through the shorts and her nightshirt or better yet to slide the sleep shirt over her hips and ride her like a rodeo bronco.

He forced his body to relax. After years of being dragged out of bed and pestered by his brother and sister, he knew how to pretend to be asleep. He thought that the best option. Much better than having them both be embarrassed when she realized that he knew where her hands had been and she realized that he was really turned on and not sporting a simple case of morning wood.

Kacie managed to wedge herself free from his arm, distancing her body from the embarrassing reminder of what she'd done. She inched up in the bed, sitting against the headboard as she let her body contort and twist into a big stretch. Arms lifted high over her head and back arched as she yawned and took in the new day before her.

Tristen watched Kacie through heavily veiled lashes. When she lifted her arms and cracked her back. The fabric of her sleep shirt stretched tightly across her chest. Highlighting perfectly shaped breasts, exactly the right size to fit into his palms, and pert, erect, nipples, exactly the right size to be suckled by his lips. He was hard, painfully so, but she was too perfect to look away from. Slowly, he reached up and gave the black hair spilling over her shoulders a gentle tug. "Morning."

"Hi." Kacie shyly slid her hair over her shoulders, spilling it across her breasts, hiding them from his view. "Sleep good?" she asked casually.

"I always do when I'm cuddled up next to you."

Kacie blushed and slid out from under the covers, giving him a coy little smile to let him know she knew how well he'd slept. They'd shared a bed before. Not that either time had resulted in anything more than sleeping and frustration. Her feet landed on the soft carpet with a whisper. "I'm going to hop in the shower real quick."

"I'll be right here." Actually, the truth was that he couldn't move right now if he wanted to. He was hard and throbbing, about to rip through the shorts.

"I bet your clothes are dry by now." It was too dangerous to leave him half dressed and in her bed. She needed to put something more than a thin layer of nylon between them. Pronto. She got up, careful not to fan the covers, although, her curiosity made her wonder if he looked as big as he felt. No, she had to get those thoughts out of her mind. Maybe she needed a cold shower. She disappeared into the bathroom and turned on the shower, blocking her thoughts of him in her bed out of her mind.

A knock on the door had Tristen bounding out of bed and scrabbling for his jeans. Kacie was in the shower and he supposed she'd rather not have him answer the door in nothing but her pink shorts. He peeked out of the peephole. Opening up the door when he realized it was his brother and sister doing the knocking. "What are you guys doing here?"

Daniel's lips curled in a sarcastic smirk. "I think the question should be, what are you doing here?"

"I was worried about Kacie getting home last night. So I borrowed the SUV and picked her up from work."

"And?" Daniel pushed his way into the tiny apartment. "That necessitated you spending the night?"

"The roads were closed. I had to stay. Mack pulled us over and ordered us off the roads," Tristen huffed. Sometimes, he really hated his little brother. The smart ass was sixteen, an impossible age. And most of the time he reminded Tristen of himself of how he'd been at that age. Nah, he hadn't been that bad.

Marianne snickered and tugged on the pink nylon waistband, poking out from beneath Tristen's black jeans. Yeah, sure, she believed his story. Not. Her older brother was so cool. As if. She inhaled and sifted through the scents in the apartment. Her brother was still a free man. He hadn't mated with Kacie. She wouldn't have minded Kacie for a sister-in-law. But, somehow, she didn't think either Kacie or Tristen were quite ready for that yet. "Got any coffee?"