Читать книгу Undying Hope - Emma Weylin - Страница 8

The woman flitted this way and that as she went through the small motel room, gathering items belonging to her and the boy. They’d walked from the diner in the accumulating snow. Bastian had passed out on the bed closest to the door. Donovan had yet to acquire the woman’s name, and she still refused to believe he was Quinn Donovan. He could feel tendrils of her delicate, young power assessing him. She stopped in the middle of the room and looked up at him with soulful eyes. “How much of this can I take with us?”

In an instant, he was trapped by the unusual pale green of her irises. Their exotic shape enhanced each emotion as they played in the depths of her eyes. The soft elven features of her face started a stirring low in his gut. His gaze drifted to her mouth—supple lips teased him into taking a step forward to steal a taste. He willed himself to stop the motion. He swallowed hard as his unintended appraisal continued. Her delicate frame swelled and narrowed in all the mouthwatering right places, making him hard. He was positive this woman would look best dressed in only her wavy auburn hair falling down to her hips, built perfect for gripping.

His body shuddered when the treòir, his source of power within, made an odd little twitch. A giddy rush flowed through him like a jolt of electricity.

Was she?

No.

A possible greater connection with her wasn’t something he could deal with now. She needed help first. He’d sort everything out when he had time and space away from her to think logically. If she was who he thought she might be, his plans to end his days could come to a grinding halt. The entire Undying Nation would become unstable if she was his mate. That needed to be avoided for as long as possible.

He must have stood there for too long staring at her because she backed up a step. Then he forced a smile and grabbed a bag off the bed nearest the door. “Anything you desire you may have.”

Her nose wrinkled up even as a smile played in the corner of her eyes. “You’re unusual.”

“Funny coming from someone without a name,” he said as he scanned the room for any odd trinket she may have overlooked.

“Haven,” she whispered. “The boy is Bastian.” She took the last remaining bag of their meager belongings off the bed. “How do you know you can help him?”

Donovan lifted Bastian over his shoulder and stopped by the door. He glanced out the window to assure the Hummer was still where he’d left it. He had stopped believing in coincidences long ago. Standing here with an Undying child in his arms, and a woman with lifebond magic, was the exact reason fate had him choosing that parking space while he’d been hunting Kyros. His attention went back to Haven. “I am what he is.”

She sucked in a sharp breath and slowly nodded. “And what is that exactly?”

“Undying,” he repeated for the eighth time since the diner fifteen minutes ago.

She snorted at him. “I don’t understand what that means. Something like a meirlock?”

A pulse of treòir energy vibrated through the room. “When have you come into contact with a meirlock?”

Her eyes went wide as she stumbled back a step. “I-I’m sorry. I’ve only heard the term used to describe a man…my grandfather knows.”

The room vibrated again. Donovan gritted his teeth in the effort to keep his power from frightening his lifebond further. “Kyros is meirlock. The word literally means lawbreaker.”

She studied his face for a long moment. “Why would someone as powerful as you help perfect strangers?”

“Bastian is of my kind,” he said choosing his words carefully. “Without an older male to teach him the proper ways of our people, he is destined to be a meirlock and would be marked for death.”

Her back went straight as her expression hardened. “He’s a good person. There is no need for anyone to mark him for death. He just needs something I don’t think I am able to give him.”

“Aye,” Donovan agreed as he opened the door. “As an older male of our people, it is my responsibility to take the boy in and guide him so our king does not have to give him a death sentence.”

“I still don’t get why that means you would help us,” she said as she moved toward the door. “I am trying to trust you, and I want to believe who you say you are, but I’ve been searching for Quinn Donovan for nearly two years to help Bastian. How did you suddenly fall in my lap and rescue us from Kyros?”

He closed the motel room door before taking to the Hummer. He settled the boy on the backseat and then joined Haven behind the vehicle. “I heard your call for help and responded before the dragon was able to get here.”

Haven waited for him to open the hatch. “Dragons? There are dragons, too?”

“There are several different clans of the Undying. The wolf clan and the dragon clan are but two, though the dragons are the only ones who can shapeshift.”

She put her bags into the back as a black wolf ghosted out from between two parked cars.

“Quinn! There’s a wolf!”

Donovan opened the back door of the hummer for the wolf to hop inside. “This is Nikon. He is an old friend.”

She squeaked. “By your…friend, you’re part of the wolf clan?”

“Aye,” he said, knowing he was somehow doing this all wrong and not giving her the right information. The more he told her, the more upset she became. “Nikon and Medea would no more harm you than they would their newborn cubs. I understand this is confusing, and more questions come to you than I can answer satisfactorily. Give yourself time. This world you enter is complex.”

She puffed out a breath of air before nodding. “Where are you taking us?”

“To my home.” He walked her around to the passenger side of the Hummer. Kyros was still out there and regardless of whose lifebond she was, he couldn’t risk allowing the meirlock to get a hold of her. “Both of you will be safest there.”

“How do I know you are who you claim to be?” She moved to stand in front of the open passenger door.

His hands settled around her waist before he knew what he was doing. Her body slid up the length of his as he lifted her into the passenger seat, sending sparks of heated desire right to his groin. His hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than they should have.

She was panting when he let her go. “I think we just melted snow.”

He cocked his head as he worked to figure her out. “I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I will hurt you if you apologize,” she said, and then turned to sit with a stiff back against the seat. She cleared her throat. “The attraction is mutual, and we’d both be childish to deny it.” She paused for a moment. “And irresponsible to act until we know each other better. Much, much better.”

Now he knew what he was working with. This could get real ugly real fast, or it could be the best thing to happen to him.

“Cool your heels,” Nikon counseled him. “She is still skittish because of the night’s fright. Time is best.”

Donovan stepped back from Haven’s door and nodded once. “That is probably wise.” He closed the door and quickly rounded the Hummer to get into the driver’s seat. Nikon and Bastian were on the back seat. Donovan started the Hummer and pulled out. “I need to stop at Tribal. I left Medea there.”

Haven shifted in the seat and stared at the side of his face while making that humming sound women often did when they were unsure. “Another exotic pet?”

“Nikon’s mate,” he said in a soft timber. “She is delicate at the moment, and I didn’t want her in danger.”

Haven twisted around, facing the back seat. “That’s darling, but how do you keep a pack of wolves concealed in the city?”

“There is a woman who will take the cubs when they are old enough,” Donovan assured her. “Nikon and Medea often appear to humans as dogs, unless they are in one of my clubs.”

“That makes sense, I think,” she said and settled against the back of the seat. The tension in her body faded. “You really are Quinn Donovan?”

“Aye,” he said and reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet and tossed it at her. “You can take a look and in the glove box as well.”

“I don’t think…”

“But it is necessary.” He briefly made mind-to-mind contact with Medea to let her know to be ready when he pulled up to the back door of the club. “I need for you to trust in me and who I am.”

She snorted and then flipped through his wallet before she rummaged through the glove compartment and examined his registration and insurance paperwork. She put all the paperwork back and set his wallet in the cup holder closest to him. “What does your protection cost?”

His brain had to be twitching in his skull. “Excuse me?”

“A woman I spoke to. She told me about the possibility of you. She said you’d help us if we could pay you.” Haven twisted her hands in her lap and looked out the passenger window.

He supposed it was best to let those types of rumors circulate, otherwise every being out there with a minor grievance would seek him out to correct their problems and hand him their own responsibilities. “Your ward is of my kind. My responsibility is to raise him to be a warrior. You are, in effect, his mother. It would be cruel to separate the two of you.”

“Men don’t take on a woman with a child without some kind of expectation,” Haven countered. “His food bill in a month is massive. And what the hell do you mean by raise him to be a warrior?”

“I understand,” Donovan said, trying to find the right words. “There are already too many chances for him to become what Kyros is. He is Undying and has little choices in what he becomes.” He came to a stop at a red light and turned to face her. “We can have centuries of peace, but he has to be ready, and he must learn how to control his power. The best way for him to gain that discipline is to train as one of our warriors. I know you do not understand, but you will.”

* * * *

Haven stared at him until the light turned, trying to get the hum of his thoughts to form complete words in her head. “It’s green.”

She looked out her window again as she tried to process this person who was the man she’d been seeking for months. Only in the last four months had she discovered his name, and then when she’d found out he was a local celebrity, gaining access to him had become more difficult. How lucky for her, all it took was a deadly confrontation with a paranormal psychopath to get him to come to her. He made her body do those tingly things that should not be happening to her with a man she did not know. Bastian didn’t need her falling for someone while she had to look after his best interest. Quinn spoke all the right words, but Mason had used all the correct ones as well. But he hadn’t exuded any of the warm, safe feeling Donovan threw off in spades. He was disorientating. Like the ninny she was, she gobbled up everything he said like gospel. The ability to trust another person had been what she’d wanted, and like her Grandfather had accused her, she was being a fickle woman. “I don’t mean to question everything.”

“But you should,” he said as he turned onto Michigan Avenue. “I’m not offended.”

“You always know the right thing to say.” Even when they were odd things like “centuries of peace” and “they were Undying.” She could only imagine what it meant. As far as she could remember from Grandfather’s stories, only witches and nymphs were immortal.

“I’ve been alive a long time.”

“Do I want to know your age?” she asked softly. “Never mind. I don’t. How do you know Bastian is all right? He’s been out a long time.”

“He is healing,” Quinn said as he turned down an alleyway. “I can wake him if you wish.”

She chewed the corner of her lip while she thought.

As he brought the car to a stop in a back alley, a door opened, and a very large and hairy man carried out a wolf as white as the snow. He opened the door, and Nikon immediately dropped to the back floorboard, making a soft whining sound as the white wolf scooted toward him until their noses touched. The hairy man closed the back door and waved at Quinn.

He waved back before he pulled out.

“She doesn’t like snow?” Haven asked a bit surprised.

“I love it,” said a very distinctly feminine voice right in Haven’s head. “My mate seems to think anything wet will make me melt if I have to be subjected to it until my time.”

Nikon huffed and licked the top of Medea’s head. “Cold paws could give you a chill, and you never know what humans did in the alley.”

Haven covered her mouth to keep from laughing. She whispered, “Are they always like this?”

“They get worse,” Quinn said in a pained tone. “Don’t get me wrong. Love is a wonderful thing, but I think some of us are little more gushing with it than others.”

“Laugh it up.” Nikon said. “You’ll see when it’s your turn.”

Haven shook her head. “I can hear them talking.”

“Wonderful,” Quinn said, seeming relieved. “Perhaps I won’t get roped into girl chat quite as often.”

“So you hear them too?”

“Usually,” he said.

“Of course!” Medea sounded. “It’s rude not to include others in your conversation.”

“Unless it’s private, and then it’s rude to snoop,” Nikon added in a tone that said someone in the Hummer had a problem with knowing the difference.

Medea nipped at him and then licked the spot she’d nipped.

Haven shook her head, sure they were talking together as she turned her attention back to Quinn. “Bastian?”

“Ah, yes,” Quinn murmured as the air around them infused with power.

“What the hell!” Bastian yelled. “Where am I? Where did that asshole go—hey, my head doesn’t hurt. Why can’t I move?”

“I am Quinn Donovan,” Quinn introduced himself. “You are in my car. I have agreed to help you and Haven. Kyros has been run off for now. I thought it best to keep you immovable until I knew how you and your passenger were going to react while I drive on slick roads.”

“Let me go,” Bastian rudely demanded. He jackknifed upright with a startled cry. He rubbed at the lump at the back of his head. “Thanks. I think. Why doesn’t my head hurt?”

“Because your passenger knows it is unable to defeat me,” Quinn said in a soft timber.

“Passenger?” Haven and Bastian said at the same time.

“The power growing in him is properly called a treòir. It will continue to grow and gain in power until the time of death. As far as I know, no one has aged to the point of its full maturity.” Quinn glanced up into the rearview mirror before turning his attention back to the road.

“I thought you couldn’t die,” Haven said. “Since you’re undying and all.”

“We can be killed,” Quinn said in a somber tone. “The one failsafe we were given when the Originals were created.”

“Whoa,” Bastian said. “I hear an über history lesson coming on, and I think my head is starting to throb again.”

Haven glared over her shoulder at him. “Bastian! This information could be useful to you.”

“Leave the boy alone,” Quinn said with a chuckle. “It is late, and there was much excitement this evening. A more formal education can wait until both of you have settled.”

“But—”

Quinn reached over and wrapped his hand around hers. “As much as you need time to process and figure out the new shift in your world, he does also.”

She squeezed his hand. The urge to cry was strong, but there would be time for the release of emotion later. It was difficult to believe she’d finally landed somewhere she and Bastian would be safe.

“We’ll be to our destination soon,” Quinn murmured.

She kept waiting for Bastian to howl in pain because his headaches were always the worst when she was upset—and he didn’t even have to get into a fight to cause them. Quinn, for his part, kept driving one-handed in the middle of a snowstorm while softly stroking her hand and making reassuring noises.

When they pulled into an underground garage, Haven began to get a grasp on her new situation. “Where are we?”

“My home.” He pulled into a parking spot right next to the elevator door marked Building Owner. “I live on the top floor.”

Right. He was supposed to be the richest man in Chicago. “I have an interview at Fantasia tomorrow.”

He turned to look at her. “No, you don’t.”

“Um, yes, I do,” she insisted.

“We’ll discuss your employment options with one of my businesses once you no longer have a deranged meirlock wanting to kill you,” he said in a sweet tone.

Her teeth gritted together. “How am I going to afford—”

“Haven,” he snapped at her. “You need to stop and calm down. I will call Mitchel tomorrow morning and let him know you cannot make your interview. If your sincerest desire is to work in one of my clubs, you will, but after you no longer put my employees’ lives in danger.”

Her mouth dropped open and then snapped shut.

“I need the little puppy’s room!” Medea sounded in everyone’s mind. “Now!”

Quinn scrambled out of the Hummer and opened the back door for her. Medea bounded out, shook her body, and then loped toward the entrance. Nikon hurried after her.

Quinn watched the wolves until they were gone, and then handed Bastian a duffle. “Bastian, you can help me get the bags.”

Haven sat frozen. There was just too much all at once, and Quinn was right. She wasn’t handling anything well just yet.

Her door opened, and Quinn stood on the other side with his glacier eyes scorching with heat. “You coming?”

“Yeah,” she said. “I guess I am.”

Quinn helped her down, only this time he didn’t let her slide along his body. What a pity. She’d so enjoyed their contact the first time, but it was better he gave her space to get her head back on straight. Quinn and Bastian got the few bags next to the elevator door.

“We’ll wait for the wolves,” Quinn said, using his body to trap Haven against the wall and block the wind. The heat that radiated from him caused her to grow warmer than was natural in a parking garage this time of year.

When the wolves returned, Quinn pushed a peculiar sequence of buttons before the long ride in the elevator. The door opened into a grand, battle-fortress foyer with huge carved wooden doors flanking either side of the elevator.

“It’s”—she paused, not sure she liked post-modern cave warrior—“an interesting choice in décor.”

He shrugged. “I’ve collected this stuff my entire life. I was lucky to be able to find most of it after the time-shift.” He dropped the bags next to a closet door. “I only have one guest room,” he said in that buttery baritone that left her feeling weak. “The boy can have it. I’ll take my office, and you can stay in my room.”

“Th-thank you,” Haven managed. There should be more questions bubbling out, but she wanted to get a handle on all the new information she had first. Her head was about to explode with the excessive influx of knowledge. “I’m sorry. I—”

“You’re exhausted,” Quinn said. “No need to apologize. I want everyone settled for the night, and we can figure out everything else in the morning.”

“Yes, sir.” Bastian led the way into the cavern-like dwelling.

Everything was dark, heavy, and masculine. The style wasn’t bad, but it did leave Haven feeling as if she’d just moved into a large cave. A cave with weapons lining the walls. Haven was sure they would give off a pretty flicker of light if there were a fire in the giant stone fireplace that took up all of one wall in the living room. “Don’t touch anything,” she said to Bastian. “You might get hurt.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said respectfully. He stopped when they got to the hallway on the other side of the penthouse and turned to Quinn. “I don’t know what I am supposed to do in this situation.”

“You need rest first, young Bastian,” Quinn said in a stern tone. “You will have time to learn what you must. For now, you need to sleep.”

“Thank you, sir.” Bastian awkwardly bowed his head. “Which room may I use?”

“The room at the end of the hall.”

Bastian bowed his head again. He lifted his backpack over his shoulder and leaned down to kiss Haven’s cheek. “Good night. I’ll see you in the morning.” Then he sauntered off down the hall.

Haven stood there and watched him walk away. She had to remind herself he was getting to be an age where he didn’t want someone to tuck him in at night. She waited until the door of the guestroom closed before she turned to face Quinn. “I don’t understand. Why is he so accepting of you? He doesn’t like men near me.”

“His treòir has enough of an education to keep an altercation from happening before either of you are ready.” Quinn crouched down next to Nikon and gave him a good ear rub with one hand while patting Medea softly with the other. “Bastian has hope. He is still good and recognizes the good in me.”

She turned away and cleared her throat. “If you’ll just tell me where to go…”

Quinn gave an extra pat before he stood up and snagged her bag out of her hands. “I’ll show you.”

Haven could only nod. She had no idea what she was doing or how she was supposed to be reacting to anything. He was taking her to his room. Did that mean he was expecting sex?

“No.” Nikon said softly only to her. “He knows you’re not handling any of this well.” The wolf padded over to her to offer her support as she followed Quinn through his home.

She stared down at Nikon. He managed to look guilty. “I can hear what is important for me to hear. Every other thought you have is your own unless you choose to share.”

She wasn’t exactly sure how that was supposed to work. Mason had been able to pick up on her thoughts, too, but she had only gotten hums and whispers before meeting the wolves. Her gaze snapped to Quinn’s back as he bent down to grab her other bag. She slapped her hand over her eyes. But damn the man had a nice ass, and he could probably hear her thoughts!

The sound of Nikon laughing resonated in her head. “He is honorable. Even if he was listening to you, he wouldn’t mention it.”

Haven stroked her hand down Nikon’s back before they started the assent of the stairs. She kept her eyes on her feet so she wouldn’t trip up the steps. Which also kept her from checking out Quinn’s butt on the way upstairs.

“I am sure he is,” was Haven’s reply, but it also disappointed her. If the world could be different… She let the thought fall away. Nothing was different. She had Bastian to worry about, and she needed to figure out how she was going to manage to keep herself from getting too wrapped up in the man that was Quinn Donovan.

He opened the door at the top of the stairs and flicked on a light. He stepped back and allowed her to enter the room first. His size made the space in the hall scant, and their bodies brushed against each other. She shivered from the intense heat and quickly darted into the room.

Quinn followed Haven and set the bag down by the bed. He pointed to another door along one wall. “Bathroom is in there, and I’ll be downstairs in my office if you need anything. The first door before Bastian’s room.”

The room was just as dark and cavernous as the rest of his home. Deep blues and warm, dark woods shrouded the room. A California king-sized bed sat in the center of the far wall between two long horizontal windows looking out at Lake Michigan. One tall dresser sat to the right of a wall of closet space. A fluffy dog-style bed big enough for two wolves rested under the left window. Haven did her best to ignore being in his bedroom and turned around to face him. “I haven’t thanked you, yet. For helping us.”

He smiled. “It wasn’t any trouble.”

But saving her had been trouble. Kyros had emanated a power vibe that nearly matched Quinn’s own. They both had more than Mason. She managed a wobbly smile back. “Thank you, anyway.”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Quinn said. There was a flash of a golden glow in his eyes. “You’re safe here. I will leave Nikon with you.”

“What about Medea?” she whispered. Nikon wound his body around her before he sat at her side. Her hand went to the top of his head.

* * * *

In that moment, Donovan believed she could be his. He swallowed hard, trying to get the lump out of his throat. “She’ll stay with me.”

His treòir stirred at the image presented to them, evoking primal emotions from deep within. His wolf had bonded to a woman. Somehow, he’d missed, or more likely ignored, Haven’s connection to him before, but now he could clearly see the link. Nikon would kill any being stupid enough to try to hurt Haven. The thought scared him. He didn’t know which way Haven’s decision would fall, nor did it matter. His power didn’t have much longer to live in the world.

“I will not leave my lifebond so easily,” the treòir promised in a deadly tone.

Giving up his power wasn’t an easy task, but he would do what he had to do. She was human. The only way to make her Undying was a long and painful process that could end up killing her in the end anyway. He wasn’t about to put any one through that kind of hell, least of all a woman he was supposed to love with the entirety of his whole self.

“She is mine,” the treòir snarled at him.

“There is time.” Donovan spoke the truth. Giving up his treòir was a fatal decision. He’d eventually grow old and die without his power. As much as he knew giving up his treòir was best, he also knew his people needed him. Haven would have need of his treòir while Kyros still lived.

“You will not give me up!”

He winced with the pain the treòir caused. Many centuries had passed since he and the power inside of him struggled for dominance. He put a hand to his temple as he went through the mechanics of keeping the power contained inside. Then Haven was standing next to him. The power faded back but remained closer to the surface than he liked.

“I’ve done something to aggravate your power thing?”

He opened his eyes, and his body trembled at her closeness. He took a defensive step away from her. “No. I can irritate my treòir all on my own.”

Her eyes searched his face before she nodded. Her breath faltered before she spoke again. “You don’t have to hide anything from me. I might not completely understand, but if there is anything I can do to help you, let me know.”

Donovan reached up and touched the tip of a finger to her lips. “I am not your worry. You need rest. I should go.” He turned to walk out of the room. He would have escaped, but the treòir would not let him.

“She is broken!” the power said with rage bubbling at its core. “She leaks. Fix her or I will find a way.”

Going back in was a mistake. It was better to flee the room and spend his night fighting with the treòir than to look at her, because he knew what he was going to see. The treòir snagged control of his body for a brief moment, just long enough to swing his head back around.

Haven stood in the center of his bedroom with tears slipping down her cheeks. Nikon pressed up against her side in an effort to offer comfort. Her delicate body trembled as she turned away from him. Her voice wobbled on the first note, “Good night, Quinn.”

“Haven.” Her name rolled out with a gritty edge.

She went perfectly still. “Y-yes?”

He moved up behind her. “You’re crying.”

“I’m fine.”

“Look at me.”

She hesitated for a moment before she turned around and tilted her head back.

He tried to look impassive, but his arms opened. “Come here.”

She hesitated again. Those beautiful eyes peered into his, assessing him and his intent before she walked into him. Donovan’s arms closed around her as her body curled in against him. The cotton of his shirt became immediately damp with tears. Her slight body kept trembling, but her crying was soft.

“She’s leaking more!” The treòir’s alarm sent pounding through his head.

“She needs this.” Donovan kept the response measured. He wasn’t about to pretend to understand why women cried after they were safe. He just knew they did. The treòir wasn’t exactly sure it believed him, but the throbbing headache subsided. He stroked a hand down her silky hair. “Shh. You’re all right. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

After a few moments, she finally relaxed against him. Using his power to put her to sleep would have been easier, but Donovan found he couldn’t make himself cheat her of his time. She needed to cry first, and he’d be damned if she used any shoulder but his for the rest of her life when she needed one. She was his lifebond. That was the only answer he had for the treòir’s behavior and the course of emotion hammering through his system.

When the tears stopped, Haven pulled back. Her eyes were rimmed red. “I, um, well, I think I need a shower.”

“All right.” He tried to get himself to leave, but his body refused to move, and this time the treòir wasn’t preventing him.

“I will stay with her,” Nikon whispered to him. The large black wolf moved to stand guard next to her and nodded toward the door.

His heart constricted. Once again, he was struck by the image of his wolf protecting a woman with more beauty than he could recall to memory. He ran his hand over Nikon’s head and then fled the room.

“You ran away from her!” the treòir yelled at him.

Donovan ground his teeth together. “Hell yes! She doesn’t need me mauling her while she sleeps.”

Treòir considered his human’s words and conceded. “The sooner we bond to her, the better off we’ll be.”

Donovan wasn’t sure he agreed. Bonding could be the single most dangerous thing an Undying could face.