Lone Wolf (15 page)

Meanwhile, the hovering lights drifted closer. Dani’s childish voice still echoed in his head.

“I won’t allow you to take her,” Marika spoke, gritting her teeth and straining against the invisible bounds. “Beck and I will fight you.”

“Beck?” Brigid’s sharp laugh felt painful on his ears. “I will take him, too. I can use him to mate with others and create more children like yours.”

Somehow, Beck pushed words out of his locked mouth. “Over my dead body.”

“If it comes to that.” The ancient vampire sounded unruffled. “I don’t need all of you to make a child. Just one part.”

Roaring with rage, Beck tried to push himself to his feet, without success.

His Herculean effort didn’t go unnoticed.

“Don’t move.” Brigid sent another shot of power at him, flattening him on the ground. “If you try that again, I will squash you like an insect.”

More shapes materialized out of the darkness. Hundreds of them. From his prone position, Beck couldn’t fully study them, but he could tell enough to know there were both vampires and shifters assembling.

Good. When the Protectors arrived to help him, maybe they’d have some allies. Assuming Simon sent them.

The glowing orbs continued to drift closer, until they hovered right above them. More appeared, until the night sky filled with them, appearing more golden than black, and lighting up the plateau as though by lightbulbs.

A flash of gold bathed them, and suddenly, Brigid’s spell fell away and Beck could move. Scrambling to his feet, he helped Marika up.

In the distance came the sound of a helicopter.

Reinforcements.

“The Protectors are on their way,” he told Marika. “We’ll need all the help we can get.”

Clearly furious, Brigid’s mouth worked soundlessly. Seeing she couldn’t speak, one of the other vampires spoke. “You’ll start another shifter-vampire war. Are you prepared for the repercussions of that?”

“If anyone starts a war, it’ll be you.” Marika faced her nemesis. Bathed in the golden glow, she appeared stronger, more powerful.

“I only want what’s mine,” Brigid snarled.

“There’s nothing of yours here.” Soft-voiced, Marika moved away, tugging Beck with her toward where a group of the largest globes of light were lowering themselves to the ground.

Heart pounding in his chest, he stood with her, hand in hand, watching as the glowing lights solidified and became still.

“She’s here,” the vampires spoke softly. “She’s ours.” The timbre of their voices irritated Beck like nails scraping a chalkboard.

“She can change.” Among themselves, the late-arriving shifters muttered. Several gave suspicious looks to the other beings. None of them was used to working with or even coexisting with so many other species. “Because she can change, she’s ours.”

“She’s not yours,” Beck said. “She’s our daughter, a little girl.”

“She’s all these things,” Eli spoke, surprising them. He and Renenet approached. Unafraid, the young boy glanced around him at all the assembled beings. “This is a historic day.”

Historic day? Beck cared nothing about any of that. He’d been denied too long—two long years, seven-hundred and thirty days had passed without him meeting his daughter. He’d heard her crying, felt her pain resonating inside his own heart, and he knew he could bring much to enhance Dani’s existence.

Wisdom, steadiness, guidance and love. Most of all, love. A family. Everything he’d always wanted, everything he’d always secretly longed for but never dreamed he’d have.

“Call her,” Eli said. “Call Dani out of the sphere.”

As Marika opened her mouth, Beck squeezed her hand.

“Not with words. Sing to her,” he told Marika, continuing to grip her hand. “Sing to all of them. Sing them home.”

The approaching chopper grew closer. The globes continued to brighten, their glow intensifying.

Marika began to sing, her voice clear and strong. She sang the same children’s tune about the red caboose, unwavering and lilting, a mother singing to her little girl.

One of the globes shattered, a soundless explosion of sparkling light. A tiny girl stood there, peering out at the surrounding crowd, frowning as she concentrated. Her jet-black hair fell straight to her shoulders, and Beck saw both himself and Marika in her perfect features.

“Mama!” she squealed and began running.

Marika met her halfway, scooping her up and lifting her high above her head. “Dani!” She hugged her close, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh, baby, I’ve missed you so much.”

Watching this joyful reunion, a wave of emotion hit him, so strong it made Beck stagger, nearly sending him to his knees.

His mate. Their child.

Family.

A gust of wind ruffled his hair as the helicopter hovered over them. An instant later, the huge chopper began to land, setting down in a field just beyond the gathering of lights.

The assembled crowd began to murmur among them selves, shifting restlessly. Yet they didn’t disperse. Instead, they continued to line the outskirts of the meadow, vampires alongside shifters, all of them watching and waiting. For what? War to break out?

And the Marfa lights grew brighter. Then, one by one, the bubbles and spheres began to disintegrate, until eleven more children stood where the lights had been.

Oblivious, Marika rained kisses on their daughter’s face.

It was Dani who slowly turned, her huge brown eyes finding Beck. Her bottom lip quivered as she stared.

“Man, Mama.” She pointed to Beck.

Hugging her close, Marika smiled. “That’s your daddy, honey. Daddy.”

“Daddy?”

Hearing her say the word in her sweet, childish voice brought tears to his eyes.

Afraid to hope, terrified of being rebuffed, nonetheless, he held out his arms. “Come see Daddy, sweetheart.”

Dani hesitated. Then, after her mother gave her an encouraging smile, she flew across the few feet that separated them, throwing herself into his arms. “Daddy!”

Holding her, Beck wept.

Her raven hair was soft and wavy, exactly as his had been as a young pup. She smelled of powder and some kind of citrus fruit, oranges maybe. She felt solid and strong and so very small and perfect in his arms.

A strangled curse from Marika made him look up.

Blades still softly whirling, the helicopter had completed its landing.

Beck slowly stood, giving Dani a little push to send her back to her mother. As he watched, three men jumped from the chopper, armed with assault rifles, crouched low, and began running toward them.

B
eck tensed, wishing like hell he had his gun.

From the corner of his eye he saw Brigid, raising her arm to send a sizzling jolt of her magic fast at them.

As she did, a second later, he recognized one of the men.

“Simon!” He instinctively started forward at the exact moment that Brigid unleashed her power, full force. Beck took the brunt of the hit in the back. Meant for three men—no, three
shifters
—it roared through him, tearing him apart, ripping him up. The pain was swift and agonizing, but in the dim recesses of his consciousness, he knew he’d survive. Shifters could only be killed by fire or silver, and on top of that, he’d found his mate and held their daughter in his arms and looked into her eyes. For that reason alone, he’d find the strength to heal. He refused to die. He would live, damn it.

From somewhere he heard a howl of agony, and for an instant he thought he’d disgraced himself and cried out, but through a haze of red he realized the sound had come from elsewhere, made by a feminine voice.

Marika. Oh, sweet Jesus. Marika. And Dani.

Aware he was a gruesome sight, even as the blood flooded into his eyes and blinded him, he tried to smile, to reassure his two girls that he was okay, that even now his limbs sought to rejoin each other as his body began to swiftly heal, with shifter superspeed.

True, all of it. But that didn’t stop the hurting. As he fought against the pain, dimly he became aware of the crowd melting away, as though seared by heat from the blast. He saw the three armed Protectors, Simon and two others, struggling to fight free from the over-spraying remnants of Brigid’s strong magic.

And then he saw Dani and Marika rushing to his side, Marika’s expression full of horror and shock, Dani’s bewildered. He gave silent thanks that she was too young to understand what had happened.

Marika hovered on the edge of losing herself to blind, all-encompassing panic. He knew he had to get her to regain her focus, to draw upon her inner strength, if they’d even have a prayer against Brigid.

He opened his mouth, meaning to tell her, but his throat had collapsed, and he found speaking was impossible. Urgency drove him to try. Again he failed, so instead, he tried to communicate with his eyes, to relay a desperate message, using a connection far deeper than words.

Be strong.
He sent his thoughts, as clearly as he could.
Marika, you must stop Brigid. Try to help Simon. Protect Dani.

But Marika seemed oblivious. Distracted, she wouldn’t even make eye contact, futilely trying only to stop the bleeding, as though she’d forgotten how swiftly shifters healed. Any other time, he would have found this touching, proof that she still cared for him. Now though, he wanted the Huntress back.

While she tried to help him, Marika kept Dani close as though to protect her. In her panic and worry, she managed to forget utterly that Dani was no ordinary two-year-old. Dani had not only inherited her mother’s powers, but developed her own. With the right direction and help, she’d be deadly. Together, the two of them could smash Brigid like an unwanted, intrusive insect.

If they didn’t wait too long and lose the chance.

Still fluttering over him, Marika made little sounds of distress in her throat. She’d never looked more human or more beautiful, but more than anything he needed her to remember her nature. Vampire witch and, most importantly, Vampire Huntress, she was their best chance for survival.

Again he tried to wave Marika away, to do something to let her know he’d survive and convince her to take care of the other unfinished business.

He would be just fine. Mouth moving, he tried again to force words up from the shattered ruin that had been his throat.

“I’m okay” he croaked. But then he smelled smoke. Turning his head, he saw the flames licking at the edge of his vision. Fire, his sole nemesis. Fire, no doubt caused by a stray spark from the chopper. The blaze grew and spread, licking at the dry desert brush, roaring into life, a furious, hungry entity, heading right toward him.

Prey.

The first frisson of sheer terror stabbed him. This could finish him, them, and he needed to do something. He was afraid, but more for his mate and their child than for himself. If any harm came to them, he’d die a thousand deaths. And also, he didn’t want his baby girl to have to watch her daddy die.

He moved his mouth, mimicking the words he couldn’t speak.
Go away. Move.

Marika didn’t even notice.

But Dani did.

Flashing Beck a half smile, his daughter pulled herself free from her mother and shook her head, glaring at Brigid.

“Bad lady,” she said loudly, her little voice harsh with a sternness far beyond her tender years. Shooting Beck another glance, she waved one chubby little hand, and his pain completely vanished.

A wiggle of her plump fingers, and his body was made whole, without even a single bruise, cut or bump.

Unreal. Like a healer of Halflings. Beck had heard of a woman in central Texas who could do such things.

Then, while everyone was still reeling from the unexpected turn of events, Dani clapped her hands. An instant later, the fire vanished, as if it had never existed. Not even a puff of smoke or charred ash remained.

A miracle. Beck didn’t waste a second more in examination. He jumped to his feet, just in time to watch his little girl twist and slip from her mother’s arms. She marched up to the fierce, ancient vampire and faced her, unafraid, with her tiny hands on her small hips.

Several of the onlookers gasped. Beck tried to make his legs move, but his feet felt glued in place, unable to take a single step.

In a flash, Marika stood. Huntress. He knew the exact instant she tapped in to her magic. She appeared to swell, though her size remained exactly the same. Grabbing her, Beck attempted to hold her back.

Gently, without looking at him, she peeled his fingers away, removed his grip. This done, she strode forward, pushing in front of her daughter, shielding the little girl with her own body.

“Prepare to fight, Brigid,” she said, the power in her voice echoing off the mountains. “You don’t touch what is mine.”

Brigid laughed, the dark sound sending chills down Beck’s spine. “You dare to challenge me, Huntress? I can destroy you with one wave of my hand.”

Pushing in front of her mother, Dani rushed forward.

“Dani, no. Stop.” Marika went for her child. The two-year-old neatly sidestepped her, focused only on their nemesis.

“Dani, come back,” Beck cried, his heart pounding. Marika glanced at him, their gazes touched, and he knew she was thinking the exact same thing. If anything happened to their baby…

Nothing would.

Marika made another attempt to grab the little girl. And once again, Dani evaded her. She marched right up to Brigid, her small face red with fury.

“You hurt my daddy.”

Marika froze.

Hearing the rage in Dani’s high-pitched voice, Brigid laughed, clearly amused. One elegantly shaped brow rose as she looked down her nose at the toddler. “Maybe I did,” she allowed, her voice condescending. “So what?”

“I don’t like that.”

She crouched down, until she was nose to nose with Dani. “Since there’s nothing you can do about it, why don’t you come with me and save your father from any more pain?”

“She’s staying with me, Brigid,” Marika said before Dani could reply, her voice fierce and determined as she rushed forward and grabbed her baby’s arm. “Leave her the hell alone.”

She might as well not have spoken. Both Brigid and Dani ignored her.

Still glaring fiercely up at the vampire, Dani shook off her mother’s hand and wrinkled her small, freckled nose, as though she smelled something awful. She blinked, whispered something and waved her hand. Brigid went flying backward, slamming into the side of the chopper and narrowly missing getting sliced in two by the still-rotating blades.

Everyone—vampires, shifters and the odd assorted humans—froze, gawking at where Brigid sprawled motion less on the ground.

Everyone except the children. They swarmed around Dani and Marika, exclaiming over the sight of Dani’s mother, since they’d heard so much about her. They crowded close, reaching out with small hands to touch her hair, her skin, and clamoring for her attention.

Keeping an eye on Brigid to make sure she didn’t move, Marika allowed this with a slight smile, though she also watched Dani, who viewed her friends and her mother with a slightly amused, indulgent smile. Beck noticed Marika was balanced on the balls of her feet, in case Brigid got up ready for another round and her Huntress side was needed.

His girls. Beck thought his chest would explode from pride. Slowly, testing joints that should have felt pain, he cautiously took one step, then another. Nothing. He had been completely healed.

Relieved to learn his legs already worked, he moved over to stand with his mate, motioning their daughter to join them.

Meanwhile, an enraged Brigid scrambled to her feet, murder in her eyes, and started forward, only to be grabbed by Simon and another Protector. They held her, one on each side, with the third Protector keeping his weapon aimed at her head.

Blowing her brains out then ripping her apart would certainly kill her.

Motionless, even Brigid appeared to recognize that.

“I did not give you permission to touch me. Release me immediately,” she ordered, baring her fangs as she gathered her strength. Gun or no gun, apparently she made ready to cast a spell that would blow them into oblivion. “Or I’ll—”

With a curse, Marika straightened. Beck could see her gathering her magic in preparation for another battle.

“No,” little Dani said, stamping her feet. Her high-pitched, childish voice rang with adult firmness. “Leave everyone alone, mean lady. Go away.”

Brigid opened her mouth to speak, perhaps to protest, maybe to cast her spell, but before she could, Dani waved three chubby fingers and poof! Brigid simply vanished, leaving the Protectors holding nothing but air.

The crowd, obviously stunned by the rapid progression of events, stared and began murmuring among themselves.

“What did you do to her?” Renee asked, expression both troubled and awed.

Dani lifted her chin, once more looking like a normal, mischievous two-year-old again. “I sent her bye-bye.”

“Where?” Renee wanted to know. Beck figured that was so she could determine how long before the Vampire Priestess returned.

“To the place with the lions and tigers. And snakes. She can bother them now.” She giggled in obvious delight. “If she’s mean, they’ll eat her.”

Spoken with the logic of a toddler. Beck and Marika exchanged a look. Had Brigid been sent to Africa or only to a zoo in some big city like El Paso, Dallas or Houston?

He started to ask, then thought better of it. They’d worry about that later. For now, they still had the assembled crowd of Brigid supporters to deal with.

Though, as he eyed the still-shocked group, none of them looked even mildly threatening. Indeed, some of them began to wander off on their own, dazed and wanting only to leave the volatile scene behind them.

Eli trotted over, beaming so brightly his freckles glowed, and hugged Dani. Releasing her, he then turned to face the remainder of Brigid’s immediate entourage, keeping one slender hand still on Dani’s tiny shoulder.

“Anyone else?” he asked quietly. “We need to know now. If you have something to say to us, better say it now.”

Though several shifted from foot to foot uneasily, no one answered. Marika visibly relaxed, apparently banishing her Huntress side and allowing herself to just be a mother again. A mother, Beck thought, loving her so much it hurt, the mother of his precious daughter and, perhaps more importantly, his mate.

“Good.” Eli scrutinized them one more time. “Please, we’re just little kids.” He gave them all a gap-toothed grin.

“What do you want?” Marika asked softly, her expression gentle.

“We want our moms and dads and our sisters and brothers.” His smile wavered. “We’re all sick and tired of running and hiding and grown-ups trying to control us. We want our families.”

The words resonating in him, Beck stared, the old familiar ache starting. Families. Something he’d never had. He’d been taken by the Society of the Protectors when he was four, and shortly thereafter, his parents had been killed in a car crash. From then on, unlike most of the other boys in the Protector Training school, he never left. Not for holidays or breaks or vacations. He’d had nothing else.

The Protectors called themselves brothers, but Beck knew he was different. Unlike all the other guys, he’d never had a real family.

Until now. Marika and Dani. His family. And, if they’d let him into their inner circle, from this point on, he meant to make them his entire life.

And there was one more person. Someone who meant the world to him. But, though he searched the crowd, he didn’t see her face.

“Where is Addie?” he demanded. “Does anyone know anything about Addie?”

“She’s probably still in the hospital,” Eli said. “She was very sick.”

Marika hastened to reassure him. “I’m sure she’ll call us when she can.”

If
she can, he thought, though he kept the correction to himself. He had to find Addie, to make sure she was okay. When this was all over, he’d search for her. Until then, he could only hope that his longtime friend wasn’t dead or dying.

“We want our families,” Eli repeated.

Several of the children murmured their agreement with Eli’s words.

“We’ll do everything we can to locate your parents,” Simon said. “We’ll need to talk to each of you individually.” He pointed to the other two men. “Each of us will take four of you. I’ll take the fifth.”

Watching as the children lined up, Eli made no move to join them. He looked alternatively proud and scared. A moment later, Beck learned why.

“Eli, you don’t have a family.” Renee’s voice, sounding uncertain for the first time since he’d met her. She moved closer, stopping a few feet away from him. Her normal haughty expression looked vulnerable.