Embrace the Power: A Paranormal Romance (The Blood Rose Series Book 9) (22 page)

He pathed.
That wraith low, take out her heel with your wolf teeth and I’ve got her vampire mate.

Rosamunde didn’t hesitate. She shifted swiftly into her wolf form, leaping at the same time. She caught the wraith’s bare foot in her maw, pulled her through the air and struck her against a tree. She hadn’t killed her, but she fell to the forest floor unconscious.

She heard the sound of Stone’s battle energy, then the smell of burning flesh.
One pair down. Three to go.

Rosamunde pivoted and saw that the vampire had taken a hit to his chest. He was dead. His wraith-mate would soon follow as often happened with wraith-pairs. The bond made it almost impossible for the mate to survive.

She waited in the shadows for Stone’s next orders. The wraiths had set up a terrible racket, flying in circles with their mates, well above the clearing. It was like listening to the frightened screech of monkeys, only dozens of them instead of just what was now three wraiths.

Still in her wolf form, Rosamunde remained very still. As was true of all predators, motion caught the eye. Wraith-pairs, being already in a more animal-like state, were particularly tuned-in to the smallest movement.

Stone whipped to his left, which was the western edge of the clearing. She understood why. He’d pegged the troll and his mate as the weakest link.

His strong voice hit her mind as he pathed,
Get the female wraith-mate.

I’m on it.

Rosamunde shifted from wolf to her Aralynn form and with dagger in hand flew like a shot through the pine trees, singling out the wraith flying erratically around the canopy above her troll-mate. The troll levitated with a battle axe and now flew in a fast descent toward Stone. The other pairs remained in the air, but Rosamunde sensed they were winding up their battle power.

She darted behind the wraith and sliced at the backs of her legs, then slipped back among the pine trees, shifted into her wolf and held herself motionless once more.

The wraith screamed then fell into the tree-tops and became tangled up in the branches of the upper canopy. Her pained shrieks continued.

When she saw that the other pairs were focused on Stone, she transformed back into Aralynn. She moved closer to the clearing and could see the red Invictus flashes of battle power striking into the pine needles. Stone moved in quick darts to avoid getting hit while at the same time maneuvering closer to the troll.

He was short, but with the Invictus power, kept rising swiftly into the air, then finally threw his axe. Stone almost got nicked, though he kept firing his hand-based energy at his adversary. The troll was very fast and as the pairs above shot battle energy at Stone, he flew into the clearing to retrieve his weapon.

Again, Rosamunde remained very still and with her wolf coloring blended into the pines. From even a short distance, she doubted she looked like little more than a shrub. She waited for Stone’s orders.

In a sudden blur of motion, while sidestepping twice to avoid battle energy strikes, Stone levitated and kicked the troll in the chest. He flew against a pine tree and fell hard to the ground.

Stone slid into the forest to avoid a final barrage of red battle strikes.

The shrieking of the wraiths had dimmed considerably, then stopped.

Stone’s voice hit Rosamunde’s mind.
We’ve only got four Invictus left, but they’ve descended into the forest. Both male vampires are coming for me. Take the southernmost one out at the back of the thigh.

They’d worked out the best system since ‘Aralynn’ had never seen battle before the past few weeks. Stone always made sure she was in the least vulnerable attack position.

Rosamunde began to move, weaving among the trees once more and heading southeast. She could smell the vampires in the forest. She also had a sense of movement above her, which meant she had to pick up speed since one of the wraiths was tracking her.

She felt a brush of something against her tail. Crap, the wraith was right on her.

But she wasn’t without a lot of power and added a burst of speed. She saw her target in front of her, who was almost on an already battling Stone. She leaped, bit hard into the vampire’s fleshy thigh then melted back into the forest, heading away from where she’d felt the wraith’s touch. The bite into her mate would also help keep the wraith somewhat incapacitated. The uninjured mate always suffered when the other was wounded.

The wraith made the mistake of shrieking her agony. Rosamunde shifted from her wolf back into Aralynn then flew at her from below. Using her knife, she cut her hamstrings, then flipped back into the forest, shifted to wolf, and once more remained still. She loved that shifting allowed her to keep her weapons and clothes.

She was breathing hard and felt exhilarated as she always did during battle. She was fighting the enemy, those who had kept the Nine Realms in a state of ongoing terror for centuries.

She knew better than to distract Stone by pathing. They were a team and he called out the orders. She had no trouble obeying a man who had fought the Invictus since he’d become a Guardsman over three-hundred-years ago.

Through the trees, she watched him battle hand-to-hand against the vampire. In a sudden, quick maneuver, he levitated, caught the vampire around the neck and snapped. The vampire dropped as did his wraith-mate.

The two that Rosamunde injured, rose together into the air and disappeared.

The last pair, however, had also taken to the air, circling the forest canopy slower and slower. After a full minute, they also took off. Rosamunde could sense they’d left for good.

Stone pathed.
That’s it. They’re gone. I’ll make sure these four that we brought down are either dead or unable to do harm. Make a broad circuit of the battle area, both on the ground then in the air.

Will do.

From experience, she knew he wanted her to hunt through the forest to make sure the enemy really was gone. Still in her wolf state, she began to run.
I’m heading south. I’ll pace at a distance of fifty yards and lope the circumference around you.

Good. I’m contacting Harris next to see where we’re at and to arrange for clean-up. He’ll get the process started.

She slowed her speed for a moment. She knew the tone of Stone’s voice well. Something was troubling him.
What is it?

I keep forgetting how well you know me. On this last vampire, I found a chain around his neck with all kinds of souvenirs. I’ve found a ring that belonged to one of my troll aunties. She was killed during the original attack at Charborne.

Stone, I’m so sorry.

Hey, at least I avenged her death. How does the forest feel to you?

Very quiet.

She made the fifty-yard circuit in good time, but the forest had a stillness that said the enemy had left.
Heading out to do a hundred-yards then I’ll hit the skies.

Let me know when we’re clear so I can give the order for the trolls to come in.

Will do.

Her wolf loved this final part of Stone’s procedure. She loped another fifty yards south to begin her second much wider circuit. As she weaved swiftly through the trees and her wolf senses kept her moving in a near-perfect one-hundred-yard orbit around Stone, she neither saw nor smelled anything that would indicate the Invictus were nearby.

She was just returning to her starting point, when the earth rumbled.

The elf-lord power!

She stopped where she was, her heart pounding, then transformed back to Aralynn. A vision so close on the heels of a battle was rare.

Stone. A vision.

I’m feeling the rumble. Should I come to you?

No. Stay where you are. Let me see what the vision means.

But you’ll be in pain.

Nothing I haven’t endured for a long time. Please, stay put til I know what’s going on.

She could feel a terrible prescience coming toward her, though not from Margetta. For that piece of grace, she was grateful.

She took the power in and accepted the painful cramping of her legs for what it was: A warning. The vision followed and it was bad. Within seconds, Margetta would be on Stone in the forest. Apparently, the team of Invictus had relayed their location and Mastyr Stone was their target.

Though still cramped and hurting, she teleported swiftly to Stone but at the same time transformed to Rosamunde’s form in order to create her powerful violet wind. She grabbed his arm and with the elf-lord power on her, she carried him high into the sky. She saw Margetta’s gold light explode over the forest below and the wave of power it carried tumbled her and Stone though the air, but Rosamunde held steady and kept moving.

Stone fought her at first, probably unaware why she’d done what she’d done.

Margetta,
was all she could think to path.

As soon as the word hit his mind, he stopped struggling against her power and settled down. He even added his levitation which forged with her own and smoothed the flight out. Together, they went faster than ever.

He drew closer to her and slid an arm around her waist.
Where are we going?

I have no idea. Somewhere my aunt isn’t.

Sweet Goddess. She was almost on me, wasn’t she?

Yes. She would have been, but I could feel the vision moving hard. In it, I saw her coming for you.

Sorry I battled you,
he said.
But I didn’t know what was happening.

There wasn’t time to even speak the words.

I know. But are you okay? I mean, are you still hurting?

Rosamunde love that he remembered how much pain the power caused her. She even smiled.
I’ll survive. Do you want to head back to the city? To your Com Center? I can return to Ferrenden Peace if you like.

I’m not sure what the hell I want to do at this point, or what I should do. But every instinct tells me Margetta is after me and won’t give up. We’d better stick together, at least for now.

Chapter Nine

Stone wasn’t sure what he wanted to do or where he wanted to take Rosamunde. The night had already become as volatile as the night before when he’d first slaked his thirst at Aralynn’s vein and learned she was a blood rose.

Only tonight, he’d discovered Rosamunde was Aralynn and that he’d made love to a woman he’d despised for months. Then of course, he’d lost his mind at the Wild Boar and practically killed another vampire because of his bone-deep belief that Rosamunde, as a blood rose, belonged only to him.

The sex.

Sweet Goddess, his mind still spun and she’d been so into him, so much unlike the woman he’d always thought Rosamunde to be.

But what really filled him with confusion was when she’d become Aralynn again and fought beside him.

Rosamunde.

Aralynn.

The same woman.

And she’d saved his life again when Margetta had made yet another appearance.

The whole thing was really fucked up and he found it hard to order his thoughts.

He needed some peace and quiet.

He needed his lake house.

Just like that, the decision was made.

We’re going to my retreat.

He felt her slow down the rapid flow of her violet-colored wind and after a few seconds he was suspended in the air beside her. The temperature was cold since she’d taken them high into the atmosphere.

Still levitating and holding onto her, he spun them in a swift three-sixty to see where they were and to make sure Margetta was nowhere to be seen. The wind flowed around them like a cyclone and they were in the center.

“We’re safe for the moment, Stone. I’d know if the Ancient Fae was nearby. So, where’s your retreat? I mean you’ve mentioned it, but only in the vaguest terms.”

He held her gaze, getting lost for a moment in her violet eyes.

Rosamunde.

He knew he was scowling, but he couldn’t help himself. “On a private lake I own and around which I set up a dense fae security system. I had Vojalie hire the contractors, then wipe their minds afterwards. No one knows about my place. But I can fly us in.”

He was about to take off, but she held him back. “I’d like to try something, if you wouldn’t mind, something I’ve never done before.”

“And what’s that?”

“I’ve never teleported someone with me. But my fae instincts now tell me it’s possible, maybe because I’ve become a blood rose, I’m not sure. But are you game?”

Her lips curved. Dammit, she knew him too well. ‘Are you game’ always spiked his competitive nature. “Hell, yeah.”

“Let’s try a short distance. What’s the nearest landmark or village?”

He glanced down, then pointed. “There’s a hill in the middle of the forest. Can you take us there?”

He watched Rosamunde draw a deep breath. She levitated away from Stone, then took his hands in hers.

It was one of those signature moments. He didn’t know why, but holding her hand like this meant something, a connection to her that he’d been avoiding since she’d told him the truth.

It meant:
Not going back.

He was in deep and despite his reluctance he had a profound, fae-like intuition he’d never be able to go back. But he’d sure as hell like a few minutes to at least think things through.

She closed her eyes and the next moment, he felt himself move but not through air. This time, it was a slip through space, an odd vibration. He hadn’t even blinked and now he levitated above the hill. In the distance he saw members of the Tannisford Shifter Brigade patrolling the forest east of the village of Billeford.

Are they your wolves?

Yup. But I don’t want to distract them.

Okay. What’s the village closest to your lake?

Hawsdale.

Right. You took me there once, as Aralynn, to the bar. What was the name?

The Hungry Mule.

Her lips twitched.
I always liked that name. So, shall we go to Hawsdale?

Yes. Let’s do it.

Again, it wasn’t like flying at all, just a soft vibration and the feel of a different kind of dimension, then he was levitating five feet above the roof of the Hungry Mule.