Maya was in way over her head.
Shane flew down like a bullet with her scream filling the predawn sky. He slammed into them, which released Maya from Horace’s grasp and sent her curling up into a weeping ball in the corner. Shane wanted to grab her and take her back to the apartments beneath The Coven, but Horace was spoiling for a fight.
He leaped onto Shane’s back, snapping his powerful jaws and attempting to bite the vampire, but Shane reached around, grabbed Horace, and tossed him through the glass doors into the living room. A werewolf bite was almost certain death, due to the poisonous effects of the saliva on vampires. That bite could turn a human into a werewolf, but it could kill a vampire.
Seconds later, the remaining glass shattered to the ground like rain, and all five of Horace’s pack members appeared in their werewolf forms. Shane barely noticed the human women running out of the suite or the two vamps who flew out the windows because the only sound he could hear was Maya. Her keening wail tore at whatever shred of soul he had and cut him deep in his core. The wolves leaped toward him but skidded to a halt when Shane drew a gun loaded with silver bullets.
All of them froze and one, a wolf with darker, almost black fur, tilted his snout to the air. Their eyes glowed orange, and the smaller brown one on the right took a step forward, but the big one growled a warning. Shane knew the wolves could telepath with each other, and in all likelihood, the big one smelled the silver.
Horace was naked and had shifted back to his human form. He rose to his feet, swiping at the blood that dripped from his forehead and with a wicked smile on his face. His five pack members stood by his side, all of them snarling at Shane.
“Thanks.” Horace laughed at Shane’s obvious confusion. “Not bad. A sentry for the Presidium attacked a member of the royal family and, in the process, has broken the truce.”
“Hardly.” Shane kept his voice even and took a step toward Maya, who had passed out. “I was protecting a member of the czars’ coven—one of Olivia’s progeny—from a wolf attack. I’d say the truce was broken by you.”
“I guess it will be your word against ours.” Horace gestured wide with both arms. “I’m sure your czars won’t be too happy with you or the girl. She comes here, leads me on, plays games with me, and then the bitch tried to suck my blood,” he smirked, the lie slipping easily from his mouth. “If anyone used self-defense, it was me. She’s a fuckin’ tease, and from what Rat tells me, everyone knows it.”
Shane gripped the gun tighter, frustration surging through him. Maya’s reputation for toying with men and her willingness to break the rules was working against them now. Olivia and Doug would believe Shane’s version of events, but what would King Heinrich and the rest of them believe?
“I will make a full report to the czars about exactly what happened here.” Shane holstered his gun beneath his jacket but didn’t take his eyes off the pack. “Feel free to do the same with your father.”
Their growls rolled around him in the air like a herd of elephants, and he knew it was only a moment before they’d attack. The moment that thought went into his mind, the five wolves lunged. Without taking his gaze off Horace, and in a blink of an eye, Shane scooped up Maya and shot into the sky like a bullet. As he flew away, he heard Horace shout, “Welcome to the war.”
Shane told them everything.
The dreams, the telepathic contact, bloodmates…everything.
Sitting on the couch in Maya’s apartment, Shane rested his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. Waiting for Olivia and Doug to say something, he felt battered by shame, anger, and frustration. Maya was passed out in her bed, with Trixie and Sadie keeping watch over her while Shane had rattled off the evening’s events to the czars with an unusual edge of emotion.
Normally, when recapping a patrol, he was all business, but with Maya, it was entirely personal.
“What a shit show.” Olivia ran her hands over her swollen belly and paced back and forth on the other side of the room. “I knew that little bastard was up to something. He deliberately baited the two of you into a fight, and it sounds like our friend Rat is playing both sides. Why would the prince want to start the war again?”
“I’m not certain,” Shane said quietly. “But if I had to venture a guess, I’d say his motives have something to do with the throne. The fact that he came here to New York and started all of this while his father is overseas is far too coincidental. Maybe he wants his father to see him having heir potential, rather than just being the spare?”
“Perhaps.” Olivia looked from Doug to Shane. “I find it difficult to believe King Heinrich would support this kind of crap. He even offered to have his oldest son, Killian, come to town to babysit his little brother, and I may just take him up on it.”
“The king wants peace, Liv. He’s not going to reignite the freaking war because of this little incident.” Doug rubbed her back reassuringly. “You’ve told me over and over that he’s totally on board with the truce. Wasn’t it his ancestor who signed the treaty?”
“Yes.” Shane rose from the couch and stood at attention. “And I have risked that peace, due to rash and impulsive actions that are not fitting of a sentry. I will accept whatever punishment you see fit.”
“Give it a rest, Shane.” Olivia waved him off. She sat in the oversized chair, and Doug took a protective stance beside her. She smiled warmly at her mate. “If anyone understands how upside down the world gets during the bloodmate bonding process, it’s us.”
“Thank you.” Shane bowed his head, but he could not shake the horrible feeling of having failed the Presidium and, even worse, Doug and Olivia. Over the past few months, the two czars had become more like friends than his superiors, and it galled him to think he had let them down. “But that is still no excuse for my behavior…or hers.”
“Maya is your bloodmate. I still can’t believe it,” Doug said with genuine wonder. “Damn, brother. You are gonna have your hands full with that one.”
“Hey,” Olivia protested. “I know she can kind of be a pain in the ass but—”
“Kind of?” Doug asked incredulously. “Kind of? That girl has done nothing but cause trouble from the minute I met her. It’s like she’s trying to get herself killed. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she has a serious death wish.” Doug’s brows knit together and he ran a hand over his short blond hair. “And I don’t get it. I know that the werewolves are strong, stronger than humans certainly, but Maya should have been able to get away from him. Right?”
“Fear,” Shane bit out before Olivia could answer Doug. “Maya is still tormented by the attack she suffered on the last night of her human life. She was reliving it every time she slept until I was pulled into her dreamscape and could intervene. Each time she hunts, every human man she feeds on, is a way for Maya to try to reclaim her sense of power. When Horace went after her, Maya was paralyzed by her deep-seated belief that she is powerless—a victim. I suspect that until she faces that fear and stops allowing her past to haunt her, she will keep fighting the ghosts.”
“You mean fighting herself,” Olivia said quietly with tears in her eyes. “That girl has been fighting since the night I found her in that alley—fighting for her life and her sanity. Something tells me, Shane, that you are going to be the key to Maya finding some peace.”
“No.” Shane shook his head and removed his jacket before placing it over the arm of the couch. “Maya will have to do that for herself, but I will be there to guide her. She tells me that you killed the human who attacked her that night.”
“Yes.” A dark cloud flickered over Olivia’s face, recalling what she’d done, and she nodded. “I’m not proud of it, but I did.”