Call of the Wylde Page 6

  “Shit.”

  “Exactly.”

  Her eyes narrowed, watching how each vampire moved. By learning their movements, she’d learn their weakness in order to kill and take them out of the living lineup. With a flick of her wrist, the knife that sat in the wrist sheath was hilt first in her hand. Owain was right, a fight in the store wouldn’t help anyone and it’d mark her among those in Egypt who absolutely despise Helsingers and what they represented. Dammit, I should’ve known a place like this would’ve resulted in something like this. Memo to self, kick O’s ass for bringing me here.

  As one of the vampires jumped over the table to Colette’s left, his blade flashed, giving her just enough warning to crouch and come up with her fist. As it made contact, she felt her blade slide between his ribs hitting its mark. Following through the motion, she allowed him to fall to the floor as the blade came out of his chest. Her eyes searched the next man out. “Who wants to dance next?”

  Before she could do anything else, Owain spoke in an ancient tongue and a slight glow seemed to emanate from him, holding the growling, snarling vampires back from attacking. “I don’t want you all to die. You got a beef, you take it up with me. Otherwise, get lost!”

  He kept up the mental force field as he readjusted his grip on one of his weapons. The vampires were trying to counter the psychic shield by pounding against it as they shouted at both Owain and Colette. The shield would only last a bit longer, but at least now both of them were ready for a challenge and other people had left, leaving only other preternatural creatures who wouldn’t mind a fight, including friends of his.

  Colette remained crouched as the vampires moved as one force through the psychic barrier. She inhaled deeply as the largest guy moved her way while the leader took on Owain. The other two seemed to play backup. Before she could blink, the big vampire grabbed at her arm, while she dove to the right, bringing up her boot to smack the vampire in the face. Words from Davyd O’Connor, her Helsinger trainer came to mind. Be mindful, keep moving. If you stop they can overwhelm you. Take them out with hits to the heart, their eyes, and their neck. Once you get them in the vulnerable areas, break their neck, then either rip out their heart or set them on fire. Only then will you be safe and they’ll be dead.

  Without a second thought, Colette lashed out at the guy with the greasy hair and shoved a silver coated knife in his ribs. She left it in him as the bigger vampire swung his leg, connecting under her ribs. Growling, she went down in a somersault, coming up with her back against Owain’s. She hadn’t seen him take out the other vampire, but could see from the corner of her eye that the leader was still alive.

  “You okay?” Her words came out in pants as they circled around, keeping their backs together tightly.

  “Couple of scratches. You?”

  “Sore, but no blood from me.”

  “Fantastic. Can we leave now?” His voice was taut and a bit harsh, but she understood the sentiment completely.

  “You’ll leave in body bags, Helsinger lover,” growled the leader, wiping away blood from his mouth. “There’s no creature in here that’ll tolerate you consorting with the enemy.”

  “Do you all agree?” Owain called out to those who remained watching. “Am I consorting with an enemy when all she does is remove the scum among us?”

  Heads shook negatively. One called out, “I know of this woman. She searches for those who killed her family and have killed people. Never those of us who live simply.”

  “I, too, have heard of this Helsinger doctor. She helped a small child in Japan and assisted at a birth in Joppa,” another agreed. “Let them alone or be dealt with by those of us who know your crimes.”

  Both of the vampires stood still for a moment. Colette realized what was meant and she didn’t envy the vampires one bit. She knew that if it wasn’t for her behaviour and her reputation as a doctor first, she’d be offered as snack food to all present and there’d be nothing that Owain could do about it. What was worse is that she hadn’t discriminated in her killing in the past; something that she knew must change if she continued as a Helsinger. Her heart trembled with the thoughts of those she murdered in cold blood. How many were innocent of any wrongdoing?

  Lowering her right hand slightly, she locked eyes with the bigger vampire. “You heard them. Are you still willing to kill me and risk death by your peers? Knowing the pain they would inflict?”

  His eyes widened and glowed with an inhuman anger. “How would you know pain? You kill those who are different from you. Die bitch!” His body launched at her, his teeth flashing. Death hung in the air.

  Instinctively, Colette crouched and rolled forward, keeping her knives facing out. As she finished, she swiveled so she faced the vampire as he fell to the floor. Without thinking, she leapt on his back, pulled on his hair and placed one blade against his neck. “Die or live. It’s that easy, vampire.”

  His hand shot up, slapping her in the mouth. Flinching at the pain, she drew her blade across his neck as her other hand shot at the center of his back, sliding the second knife deep within the heart of the vampire. When she heard the rattling exhalation, she knew he was dead. She released the vampire’s head, letting it hit the ground with a slight thud. Raising herself up, she headed towards the leader who had started the whole issue. “Owain, move.”

  “No, enough blood has been shed.”

  “My honor is at stake, not to mention my life. If he’s let go, he’ll seek me out with more people he turns against me and the other Helsingers who call their behaviour to order and for judgment. The Helsingers were created for a reason, one that not even this one can deny. If you don’t move, Owain, you’re saying his way is the right way.”

  Owain glanced at her. “But fighting this one will not stop future attacks from others. All here know you’re a good person, Colette Wylde. Don’t compound a problem not your own.”

  Sahim stepped in between Owain and the last remaining vampire. “Kill him not, Sitt Hakim. You are better than he. Leave him to those of us whom he’s hurt.” His amber eyes flashed with hate towards the vampire. Nodding, Colette tossed one of her knives to the young boy.

  “As you will, Sahim.” Her voice was hoarse; her shoulders sagged slightly as if the world sat firmly on her shoulders. “He is yours to deal with.”

  The vampire’s eyes opened wide as the others moved closer around him. Sahim’s eyes glimmered. “You’ll make a good meal for those whom you have harmed in the past. Truly you will, nosferu.”

  Colette turned on her heel, not watching what was going to happen. But the gasp and the fearful moan was all she needed to hear to know that retribution was done. Owain’s hand gripped her shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go back home.”

  Quietly, she followed. Something in her had changed in the past few months. Something that wasn’t like the Colette of old. Morrigu, have mercy on my soul.

  Chapter Six

  >The ride home was quiet, both of them lost in their thoughts. Even when she showered, her body quivered in the realization of what she’d become. Owain had waited for her and she couldn’t stand there under his steadfast gaze. Colette walked away from Owain, her face stained with tears. “I’m a killer, O. A fucking killer who couldn’t see past the need for revenge.”

  Owain gripped her arm, tugging her against his hard chest. “No, Col. That’s not true and you know it.” Forcing her chin up, his deep eyes locked with hers. “Listen to me. I mean it, none of that pretending to listen shit you do when you don’t want to hear something you don’t like.”

  Colette tried to pull away, but he kept her against his body. The heat of his flesh burned into her skin. Part of her wanted to just give in to his warmth and comfort, but the other part wanted to run far away. “Well, if you’d say something worth listening to, I wouldn’t ignore the rest.”

  Owain released her and glared. “Your smart-ass remarks aren’t helping this much, Col. I know you hurt, but those you killed were cold blooded killers. They didn’t care who they
destroyed. You did a favor to mankind by killing them. It might go against your oath, but aren’t you supposed to save lives by any means necessary?”

  Colette sagged to the floor of the room, her body trembling. “I can’t believe I took lives. I’m trained to save them, not shed them.”

  Owain pulled her on his lap, wrapping his strong arms around her. “Shh, Col. It’s okay. Think about the lives you’ve saved by stopping them. How many would’ve died had you not gotten rid of those vampires?”

  She lay there in his arms, sobbing for herself and for those lives lost. Owain kept stroking her hair, reminding her of those who she had saved by her appearance and now lived. Did those lives count? Her mind thought on that. Were those lives she saved any less sacred than the vampires she destroyed?

  “You don’t think I angered the gods by exterminating some of those vampires, do you?”

  Owain chuckled and tilted her chin up. “Doll, we helped create the Helsingers by order of Morrigu. Do you think that the gods would mind if the vampires weren’t getting out of control?”

  Colette leaned forward, kissing Owain’s chin, her hands sliding up his naked chest. “So the Helsingers were created to help keep a balance among the vampires and the living?”

  Owain nodded as his hand captured hers. “Exactly. It’s that nature cycle we all are part of.” His free hand caressed her cheek then down her neck until his palm lay between her lace-covered breasts.

  A small gasp escaped from Colette’s lips as his hand deftly undid the front clasp of her bra, exposing her rounded breasts to his gaze. Sliding his thumb across one stiff nipple, Owain dipped his head and captured the other in his mouth.

  Arching into him, Colette gripped his shoulders while her mouth suckled on his exposed neck. Tempted, she bit him, feeling the shiver that coursed through his body. “Col, don’t do that,” he moaned as he switched to the other breast. “You really don’t want to unleash the beast within.”

  Her chuckle filled the room. “Hell yes, I do!” Then she bit him harder where the neck met the shoulder, feeling his flesh shudder as a loud growl poured from his throat. Continuing, Colette nipped hard then softly up and down his neck, until finally she bit the front of his throat as his hands teased her breasts.

  Owain’s eyes shifted to the darker more feral look she had seen when they had fought those others. Yet, there was something else there -- desire. Colette shifted so her legs wrapped around his waist, her mons rocking against his erect cock.

  Clasping the back of her neck with one hand, Owain tugged on her hair, urging her to expose her neck more. “My turn, babe.”

  His mouth whispered over the delicate skin of her neck, her body shivering slightly as wet trail marks traced his path. When he got to where her carotid artery pulsed with life beneath his lips, Owain paused, smelling the life and bounty within her body. He felt her body wiggle against his, her taut nipples pressed against his chest, causing his cock to harden further in desire for this woman warrior. Slowly, he licked her skin then with a quick decision, Owain bit into Colette, allowing her lifeblood to fill his mouth.

  The warmth of her life, the tang of her essence filled his senses and his soul. Careful only to take just a mouthful, Owain’s tongue licked over the punctures that he created. Colette nipped at his cheek, causing him to swallow the lifeblood, feeding him with energy and a need to take her, hard and swift. His hands moved to cup her full breasts as he pulled from her neck, licking the site where his teeth had punctured her, making the marks invisible.

  His thumbs rasped across her tight nipples as his mouth began kissing down the center of her chest. Her body arched against his, urging him to take one of the dusky peaks into his mouth. Her hands fisted in his hair, drawing him to one breast. Drawing it into his mouth, Owain suckled it hard making Colette gasp with the pressure.

  “O, gods…. your mouth,” she whimpered. “More, O. I need more.”

  “The taste of you incites my fire, Col,” Owain whispered as he laved his tongue over the other breast. Slowly he slid down, his tongue swirling in patterns over her abdomen. Her hands played with his hair, her eyes watching his every movement.

  He could love this woman, this firebrand before him. But is she the one my brother thinks she is? Lowering his mouth over her mons, his tongue swirled in her dark curls. With one hand, he pushed back against the lift of her hips.

  “Not yet, Col. I’ll get there when I get there,” he chuckled.

  “Hurry up, you’re killing me with that damn mouth of yours,” she rasped as her fists clenched and unclenched in his hair.

  “Is baby having a needy moment?” Owain tilted his head as his tongue lapped at her curls.

  “Baby is demanding that you suck me, O!”

  “Tsk tsk tsk. Baby needs to ask.” He paused and blew across the wetness causing her skin to pucker with goose bumps as a shiver raced through her.

  “Please, Owain. Please suck on me?” Her words came out in pants as her eyes dilated while she watched him.

  His mouth replied as his fingers splayed open the rosy skin and her clit throbbed in need. Owain’s tongue lapped at her clit, swirling around it but not really touching it as two of his fingers slid deep into her. She moaned as she grasped at the floor, trying to find something to hold on to. Owain grinned against her soft exposed flesh then drew the firm clitoris into his mouth, suckling hard. Colette screamed as her orgasm ripped through her body.

  Owain lifted his head while sliding two long fingers deep inside Colette. Arching, she met his thrust as he began to create a rhythm. Moving his body so he was sitting perpendicular to her, he kept increasing the tempo of his fingers, sliding in and out of her as her hand slid behind his neck, drawing him close. His smile was potent as her tongue licked his lips.

  “I want your cock in me, O. Now,” she whispered with a moan as his fingers curled deep inside her.

  “Not yet.”

  “Now!”

  “No, come for me,” he purred as he slid in a third finger to join the other two. Colette screamed her release as her mouth covered his.

  As her lips moved over his, her tongue darting in tasting his musky male essence, her mouth nipped the corner of his lips, then slid down his jawline. Owain’s body slid over hers, his hard cock nudging against her for entrance. As his cock slid home, claiming her, Colette’s mouth claimed where his neck and shoulder met, her teeth biting through the skin, drawing blood.

  Owain moaned as her mouth suckled a small amount of his blood into her as her tongue lapped against the marks. He kept himself deep inside, unmoving until her hips rocked against him, drawing him deeper in her warmth. “Oh, babe, the things you do to me.”

  “Yeah, well you do a lot for me too,” she muttered as her lips captured his. Wrapping her legs around him, Colette urged him into a fast, hard rhythm.

  As he pulled almost out of her, she whimpered in protest. With care, he laid her down on the floor. Kissing her bottom lip, Owain slid her legs further up to his shoulders then impaled her repeatedly with his cock as their emotions intertwined and climbed higher. “O, please, now,” she begged, her breaths coming out raggedly.

  He shook his head, smiling down at the woman beneath him. Regardless of what happened before and whatever they might face ahead of them, they were together. Granted the thrill of the hunt was there for them both, but it was more than that. There was something about her that made him want to protect her, kiss her, and fuck her senseless. The idea of her leaving after this research project terrified him. He didn’t want her to leave.

  He paused midstroke. As she moaned, Owain leaned forward, his cock sinking slowly into her pussy as his lips captured hers. Be the One for me. Be my soulmate. Then he moved his mouth over her neck and sank his fangs in her as his cock plunged hard into her, causing them both to tumble over the edge.

  Slowly Colette came down from the high of making love to Owain. As her breathing slowed to normal, she looked into the deep eyes of the man over her. It amazed her at how e
asily she could let herself go with him. Though sensual, she never let herself lose control and be demanding like she was with this man. What was it that Kirstie had told her? Oh yeah, something about the Maraighs invoked safety and sexuality in each breath.

  “You’re beautiful when you’re pensive,” Owain whispered as he brushed away some of the stray hair that clung to her face. “What are you thinking?”

  Colette smiled at him as she slid her legs off his shoulders. “I’m thinking I need a drink and you need to feed.”

  Owain grinned, his fangs showing. “But I just fed and I’m full.”

  “In that case, I’m starved.” She slid out from under him and stood up. Her nakedness shone in the pale light and he grinned at the effect she had on him.

  “Alright, but I think we need to make plans to leave this place and head to Ireland. Shane, another cûntoír, has some information for me and I need to see if one of my brothers can petition Morrigu for me.”

  Colette followed him as he went to the kitchen. She watched him as he whipped together some food, comfort food at its finest. Once he was done, they sat at the kitchen table and ate. They talked of inconsequential things, avoiding talk about what had happened earlier. There was something there that needed saying, but neither of them could handle the emotion it would bring.

  “I’ll make ticket arrangements. We need to get to Ireland as soon as possible.” Owain refilled her glass.

  “Sounds good. Let me know our flight arrangements. I have a friend there who does research and is supposed to bring me some information.” Colette sipped her juice. “Are we going to stay in Ireland?”

  “I’m not sure, really. There’s much to be done and I don’t think the main thrust of vampire history comes from Ireland, though I’m sure Morrigu plays part of it.”

  “Do you think then that Riana is right and we should head to Mexico?”

  “It seems reasonable. I think whatever sources Shane dug up will either confirm or deny it.” He rubbed his forehead. “I hate to leave Egypt with things unsettled, but I have friends who’ll look after this place while we’re gone.”